ILIBRARYOFCOIGRESSJ 






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Inlets and Outlets. 



FAMILIAR TALKS ABOUT THE FIVE SENSES. 



BY THE 

Eey. CHARLES A. SMITH, D.D., 

Author of " Among the Lilies," etc. 



5Ui)^ 



PHILADELPHIA : 

PRESBYTERIAN BOARD OF PUBLICATION, 

1334 CHESTNUT STREET. 






^ 



o i,^ 



Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 1872, by 

THE TRUSTEES OF THE 

PRESBYTERIAN BOARD OF PUBLICATION, 

In the Office of the Librarian of Congress, at Washington. 



Westcott & Thomson, 

Stereotypers and Eltctrotypers, Philada. 



OOFTEI^TS, 



PAGE 

THE BODY 7 

SIGHT 27 

HEAEING 65 

TOUCH 105 

TASTE 147 

SMELL 187 

5 



Inlets and Outlets, 



THE BODY. 

FLOWER is more wonderful than a 
^ ^ stone, because it has life. A butter- 




ed-- (i-j 



'^(^ fly is more wonderful than a flower, 
because it has feeling as well as life. 
A child is more wonderful than a butterfly, 
because it has a soul that knows good from 
evil. And now I want to tell you some 
things about this highest, noblest life that 
will help you to understand how wonderful 
it is. 

First, I will speak of the body — the liv- 
ing temple in which the living soul dwells. 

How, then, is the body constructed, and 
how is its life prolonged from day to day ? 
It is formed very much like a tree or a 

7 



8 INLETS AND OUTLETS. 

flower or a stalk of wheat, in some respects, 
and lives on very much in the same way. 

If you examine a flower, you notice that 
the leaves and expanded buds are supported 
by a stem, and this answers the same pur- 
pose as the framework of the human body, 
which consists of no less than two hun- 
dred and forty-six bones. Every tree eats 
and breathes, or it could not live. The 
root has many little mouths, and these 
drink in the food, and this food becomes 
sap, which is the blood of the tree, and 
contains what makes the wood and the 
leaves and the fruit. And as the sap flows 
along from branch to branch each leaf 
takes what it wants and lets the rest pass 
on, and each apple or pear takes what it 
wants and lets the rest pass on. And all 
the while the leaves are acting the part of 
lungs, and breathe in and out very much as 
you breathe. 

Thus the food you eat is changed into 
blood, and this blood contains all that is 



THE BODY, 9 

needed for the repair of the body, which 
would otherwise waste away and die. 

This, circulation of the blood is wonderful. 
It begins at the heart and ends at the 
heart, and in going round reaches the very 
tips of the fingers, just as the sap reaches 
the most distant leaf of the tree. The lit- 
tle tubes or blood-vessels through which the 
blood flows have been likened to so many 
canals, and the particles of blood to so 
many boats laden with food for different 
towns along the route. When the heart 
beats, it is the signal for these boats to start 
on their voyage. First, the whole fleet 
passes through the large canal that is 
nearest the heart, but soon the boats begin 
to separate, and some pass into the canal by 
which Shoulder town is supplied, whilst 
others go to Elbow town and unload part 
of their freight, and thence proceed through 
branch canals and supply the wants of the 
immediate neighborhood. Meanwhile, other 
boats have entered canals that lead to Wrist 



10 INLETS AND OUTLETS, 

town and Hand town, which are respectively 
supplied. Here the two canals form a junc- 
tion across the palm, and thus Palm town is 
supplied ; and at this point they branch off, 
so as to allow the boats to supply the four 
Finger towns and Thumb town. 

Then these boats carry not only food, but 
fuel also, to the different towns. And then 
too each of these towns has refuse or waste 
material to be taken awa}^ and to do this 
other boats are ready, and pass through 
other canals back to the heart again. Then 
this waste material is sent by the heart to 
the lungs, where it is purified, and fitted 
thus for another voyage. 

These canals through which the blood is 
continually passing to and fro, going out 
by the arteries and returning by the veins, 
lie so close to each other that if you prick 
yourself with the finest needle you will be 
sure to strike one or more of them and cause 
the blood to flow out. It takes the boats 
just two minutes to make the voyage from 



THE BODY. 11 

the heart and back again, and during 
these two minutes twenty pounds of blood 
or more pass through the heart. Is it not 
true that we are fearfully and wonderfully 
made ? 

And now let me tell you about certain 
thread-like arrangements called nerves. 

When you put your finger on the hot 
stove, you say it burns. How do you know 
it burns? Because the nerves tell you so. 
And then you pull your finger quickly 
away, because other nerves enable you to do 
it. What, then, are the nerves ? They are 
little threads that run through every part 
of the body like telegraphic wires, and tell 
the head what is going on here, there and 
everywhere. If in plucking a rose you 
wound your hand with a thorn, there is a 
wide-awake nerve that says, " Be careful ; 
you are hurting yourself." 

Without these little tell-tales stationed in 
every part of the body to keep watch by 
day and by night, you would not feel a cut 



12 INLETS AND OUTLETS. 

or a bruise, or any pain whatever. But it 
would not be wdse to wish them away, be- 
cause they always tell the truth, and are 
therefore among the best friends you have. 
They warn you of danger and help you to 
escape from it. When your head aches, it 
is the knocking of the nerves at the door, 
telling you that all is not right, that you 
have, perhaps, eaten too much or broken 
some one of nature's laws. 

In this respect the nerves are very much 
like conscience when it troubles you and 
makes you feel unhappy because you have 
done something wrong. Yet it would be 
very unwise to wish there were no conscience ; 
for if you are in danger of committing sin, 
or if you have committed it, you ought to 
know it, and be thankful for the pain that 
warns you against it. 

The nerves are like conscience too in an- 
other respect, for they produce sensations 
of pleasure as well as of pain. 

From what I have said, you are now 



THE BODY, 13 

aware that these thread-like arrangements 
are of two kinds — those by which we feel 
and those by which we act. Without the 
last kind, which are called nerves of motion^ 
you could not walk, or lift a finger, or speak, 
or sing, or kiss those you love. I ask again, 
are we not fearfully and wonderfully made?^ 

All this is due to what is called life, of 
which we know very little more than that 
it is the power of God working in us. If 
you examine carefully a dead bird, you find 
the blood-vessels and the nerves all per- 
fectly formed ; but the blood does not flow, 
nor do the nerves speak and act, because 
life, the motive-power, is gone, just as the 
motive-power is gone from a steam-engine 
when the fire is out. 

But this is not all that might be said of 
the living temple into which God has put 
the living soul. Nor would I be able to say 
all if I were to try. I will only add that 
this temple has inlets and outlets, or doors 
and windows, through which the light 



14 INLETS AND OUTLETS. 

comes, and objects are seen that are outside, 
and visitors enter, and the soul itself goes 
out to keep company with other souls and 
to do good or evil, as it may be inclined. 

Now, the human body owes its chief im- 
portance to the fact that it is a convenient 
dwelling-place for the soul. So far as mere 
life is concerned, the life of a tree is just as 
wonderful as the life of a bird or a man. 
But then the bird has feeling and some- 
thing like a will, which the tree has not, 
and man has conscience and a soul, which 
do not belong either to bird or tree ; and so 
we rise step by step until we reach God's 
noblest work on earth, which I am safe in 
saying is a pure-minded, dutiful, loving, 
Christ-like child. 

What is the difference between a kiss and 
a blow? Just the diflference there is be- 
tween love and hate. And what makes the 
difference? Not the nerve-force that strikes 
the blow or gives the kiss, but the soul that 
orders the thing to be done. 



THE BODY. 15 

When an old man entered a railway- 
car at one of the stations, and a boy rose 
promptly and said politely, " Take my seat, 
sir," it was the nerve-force that enabled this 
boy to move and speak, but it was his gen- 
erous, reverential spirit that prompted the 
nerve-force to act as it did. 

Dick had been called a rough, selfish boy. 
But his heart had become tender and pen- 
itent and loving, and as he sat beside his 
mother with his hand in hers, he said, feel- 
ingly, " Mother, I mean to try to live like a 
child of God." It was the same nerve-force 
that enabled him formerly to utter the 
unkind, impatient words that pained his 
mother's heart and now the filial. God-fear- 
ing words that drew the kiss from her lips 
and the tear of joy from her eye ; and when 
he left the skating-ground in the midst of 
the sport, and went home because he remem- 
bered the little sick brother who looked 
wistfully after him as he shut the door, it 
was the same nerve-force that would have 



16 INLETS AND OUTLETS, 

acted if he had remained with the skaters, 
instead of going to amuse a lonely brother. 

Most of our actions, those for which we 
are responsible, are determined by the will, 
and whether it is a kiss or a blow depends 
upon the will. In other words, the nerves 
that move the hand to perform generous or 
unkind deeds are ruled by the feelings of 
the soul; and when these feelings are in 
accordance with God's will, it is always the 
good deed^ and never the evil deed. 

When David said, "I am fearfully and 
wonderfully made," he doubtless thought of 
the soul as well as the body ; and when he 
said, " Whither shall I flee from thy pres- 
ence?" it was of the soul he spoke, and of 
the impossibility of its hiding itself from 
the eye of God. The body is wonderful 
in its construction, but the soul is more 
wonderful still — has more wonderful powers. 

Last summer you were on the seashore 
or in the silent woods, or you climbed the 
mountains and gathered wild flowers in 



THE BODY, 17 

your walks, and since then you have been 
many times among those pleasant scenes — 
not in body, but in mind, — in thought, in 
feeling, perhaps in your dreams. That is 
to say, your soul has stepped out and wan- 
dered off two or three hundred miles from 
its accustomed dwelling-place without ask- 
ing leave of absence. This is the soul's 
privilege — to go to the very ends of the 
earth, and even to the stars, if it has learned 
the way, and iDack again in a single mo- 
ment. 

Mark now what David says in view of 
all this : " I will praise thee, because I am 
fearfully and wonderfully made." 

God made the body and the soul, as he 
made the flowers and grass, for his own 
praise and glory. But whilst things that 
have life without feeling or knowledge 
praise him continually — the trees in their 
growth, and the flowers in their bloom and 
sweetness — and whilst things that have life 
and feeling do the same — the birds in their 



18 INLETS AND OUTLETS. 

songs, the bees in their industry, and all in 
their observance of God's laws — man, God's 
noblest work, with reason and conscience to 
guide him, brings shame upon himself, and 
would bring shame upon his Maker were it 
in his power. 

How, then, are you to praise God ? By 
serving him with your body and your soul, 
for they are both his. The body is the 
temple in which the soul worships, and the 
temple must be kept holy. The body is 
the instrument with which the soul does its 
work, and the instrument must be kept in 
good repair and be used aright. The body 
as well as the soul must be obedient to God, 
for the soul cannot be as God would have 
it while the body is the servant of sin. 

Let me hang up two or three pictures 
that will show you what I mean. 

The first is that of a boy of singular 
beauty who, when an orphan, was adopted 
by a gentleman of wealth and sent to 
school. Here he learned all the sports. 



THE BODY, 19 

tricks and battles of the play-ground. 
But before his school days were ended he 
became wild and reckless. At an age when 
most boys value money only as an exchange 
for toys and candies, he spent his in gam- 
bling. Yet so wonderful were his powers of 
mind that with all his dissoluteness he was 
among the first scholars of his class. He 
entered the university, and here his vices 
soon led to his expulsion. Then he gam- 
bled more deeply than ever until his money 
was gone, and he could get no more. After 
this an appointment was secured for him as 
a cadet at West Point, but in ten months 
he was cashiered for neglect of duty and 
disobedience of orJers occasioned by his 
intemperate habits. At length he married 
a gentle girl who strove to be his guardian 
angel, but she had no power to check his 
vices, and he dragged her into extreme 
poverty and kept her there until she died. 
This young man, with his broad and lofty 
brow and dark, lustrous eyes, could be seen 



20 INLETS AND OUTLETS. 

day after day begging of tavern-keepers for 
the drunkard's bliss, and then drinking and 
drinking until he fell beneath the table 
and his noble brow and delicate lips pressed 
the bar-room floor, and thus he went on in 
his reckless way until he left the world in 
drunkenness and shame. 

This is a dark picture — so dark and ter- 
rible that you do not want to look at it. I 
do not think that any one of you would pull 
up a flower or tread on a worm out of mere 
sport. I am quite sure you would not break 
a beautiful shell, or a musical instrument 
that could be wound up and set to playing 
sweet music for you. Yet there are many 
who do far worse than this. They defile 
and ruin the soul, and tear to pieces the 
temple in which God placed it to offer praise 
to him. 

Now I will hang up another picture, and 
a more pleasant one. It is that of an only 
child — a girl who was deprived of her pa- 
rents at an early age, and was brought up 



THE BODY. 21 

under the care of a widowed grandmother. 
Her education was • merely such as could be 
obtained at a village school, though she im- 
proved her mind greatly by self-tuition in 
after years. At the age of fourteen she 
passed a year in learning the business by 
which she was to earn her bread — dress- 
making. The preparation for her great life- 
work, however, was the teaching of a class 
in a Sunday-school and the occasional read- 
ing of the Scriptures in the sick ward of 
the workhouse. Thus she drank deeply of 
the spirit of that book " which ever tells of 
mercy." 

In this spirit she became an occasional 
prison visitor. The first prisoner whom she 
met was a woman, an unnatural mother who 
had cruelly beaten and ill-used her own 
child. To this wicked mother she told why 
she had come, and spoke to her kindly, 
tenderly, of her guilt and her need of God's 
mercy, when the poor penitent woman 
thanked her and burst into tears. Those 



22 INLETS AND OUTLETS, 

tears and thanks shaped the whole course 
of Sarah Martin's after life. 

These visits were repeated as often as she 
could spare time from her daily labors. 
After a while she gave a day in a week from 
her dress-making. She prevailed on the 
prisoners to have a religious service on the 
Sabbath, when one read to the rest ; and at 
length she took charge of the service her- 
self. It was not very long before customers 
began to fall off, and then they disappeared 
altogether. Now the question was whether 
she should go on with her benevolent labors, 
though they led to utter poverty ; and this 
was the answer given to the question, in her 
own words : " In the full occupation of dress- 
making, I had care with it and anxiety 
for the future ; but as that disappeared, care 
fled also. God, who had called me into the 
vineyard, had said, ^Whatsoever is right 
I will give you.' I had learned from the 
Scriptures of truth that I should be sup- 
ported. God was my Master, and would 



THE BODY, 23 

not forsake his servant ; he was my Father, 
and could not forget his child." From that 
hour she gave herself wholly to the work 
God had put into her hands, and never 
found his promises to fail. 

Here, then, are two pictures very unlike; 
and since you have looked at them some- 
what closely, you will be able to tell which 
you like best. Here are two lives — the one 
life treading in paths of usefulness, search- 
ing for duties as if they were sweet flowers 
and luscious fruits, wearing them as if they 
were finest jewels, feeding upon them as if 
they were richest food on the table of the 
home of poverty ; the other life reeling in 
paths of shame, charred and killed by vice, 
as if a noble tree, blackened and burnt, had 
set itself on fire. 

I know which life you would rather have 
for yours. You would rather visit Yar- 
mouth jail and read the words of Jesus to 
the prisoners there, and teach them how to 
sing and pray, and become honest and pure. 



24 INLETS AND OUTLETS. 

than to break in pieces the wonderful body 
God has given you, and destroy the more 
wonderful soul. 

I have several other sketches that I would 
like to hang up if you had time to look at 
them. Here is one that you may put in 
some little corner of your memory if you 
will. It is entitled Devotion of a great 
MIND TO ITS DUTIES. It represents John 
Milton, the writer of Paradise Lost, who 
during an active life in the most troublesome 
times was unceasing in the cultivation of his 
understanding, as thus describing his own 
habits. 

" Those morning haunts," he says, '' are 
where they should be, at home ; not sleep- 
ing or planning the surfeits of an irregular 
feast, but up and stirring ; in winter, often 
ere the sound of any bell awakes men to 
labor and devotion ; in the summer, as oft 
with the bird that first rouses, or not much 
tardier, to read good authors or cause them 
to be read ; then with useful and generous 



THE BODY. 25 

labors preserving the body's health and 
hardiness, so as to render lightsome and 
clear the obedience of the mind to the cause 
of religion and our country's liberty." 

Were I to hang up any other pictures, 
they would be those of Samuel serving the 
Lord early, and of Timothy taught by his 
mother and grandmother to read and obey 
the Holy Scriptures, and of Jesus, best and 
brightest of all. But you have copies of 
these already in your memory, I think ; and 
I hope in your heart likewise. 

" He liveth long who liveth well. 
All other life is short and vain ; 
He liveth longest who can tell 
Of living most for heavenly gain. 

" He liveth long who liveth well. 
All else is being thrown away ; 
He liveth longest who can tell 

Of true things truly done each day. 

" Sow truth, if thou the truth wouldst reap ; 

Who sows the false shall reap the vain ; 
Erect and sound thy conscience keep ; 

From hollow words and deeds refrain. 
3 



26 INLETS AND OUTLETS. 

" Sow love, and taste its fruitage pure ; 
Sow peace, and reap its harvest bright; 
Sow sunbeams on the rock and moor. 
And find a harvest-home of light." 



SIGHT, 



1 he light of the body is the eye. 




SIGHT. 

[HE eye is both an inlet and an outlet 
for the thoughts of the mind and 
the feelings of the soul. Trees and 
flowers and stars, and all beautiful 
things, enter it, and often things that are not 
beautiful ; and the joy or impatience or an- 
ger created by these visitors walk out of the 
eye just as plainly and just as really as peo- 
ple walk out of the open door, or as the bird 
that has escaped from its cage flies out of 
the open window. 

You can easily tell whether your friend 
is sad or happy by looking at his eye, be- 
cause the sadness or the happiness that is in 
his soul walks through his eye into yours. 
If you have a thought in your soul that you 
are ashamed of, you turn your eyes away 
from those you meet, or you let the lids fall 

29 



30 



INLETS AND OUTLETS. 



over them, for you know very well that if 
others are allow^ed to look in, they will be 
sure to see the mean company you keep. 

Call the eye either a door or a window, 
and certain it is that no such door or win- 
dow was ever made by the hand of man. I 
have told you that the human body is a tem- 
ple in which the soul dwells, and in which 
it is to worship God ; but no painted window 




The Eye— Fro^^t View. 



or carved door of any church was ever so 
beautiful or wonderful as the human eye. 

First, as to its shape and color. It is a 
hollow globe like a soap-bubble; only the 
outside is stronger and-tougher and more 
pliable than the shell of an egg. This globe 
is set in a bony socket, and is protected from 



SIGHT, 



31 



injury by the rim of this socket, as you can 
feel by passing your hand around your eye. 
Were it not for these bones, the eye would 
be destroyed very often by blows that now 
do little harm. The eyeball can be easily 
moved, so as to look up or down, right or 
left. How is this managed ? Look at the 
engraving of ''the eye-ball with its muscles," 
given below, and you will see. There are 




The EYE-BALii, with its Muscles.— Side View. 

muscles attached to it by which it is drawn 
in the direction desired by its owner. 

This globe is for the most part white, but 
in front there are two circles, the one in the 
centre always black, the one surrounding 
this either blue, or graj^, or hazel, (see Z>, Z>, 



32 INLETS AND OUTLETS. 

oa the cut on page 30), and at the same 
time so mottled as to have received the 
name of iris, which means the rainbow. 
In the engraving of the eye here given, 
you will see the outside tough coat of the 
eyeball, called the sclerotic, marked a, a. 
This forms the '' white of the eye." Then 
you will notice the dark circle, b, b — this is 
the iris of the eye ; whilst the darker circle 
within is the opening through which the 
rays of light get inside of the eye. The 
light enters the globe only through the in- 
ner circle ; and this inner circle is not al- 
ways equally large, for the colored circle that 
surrounds it is really a self-acting curtain, 
which, when the light is very bright, closes 
upon the inner circle or opening through 
which the light passes, and makes it smaller. 
This you can readily see if you close your 
eyes for a few moments, and then open them 
suddenly and look into a mirror, for you 
will notice that the round black spot, which 
grew larger when your eyes were shut, be- 



SIGHT, 33 

comes less in size, until it is just large 
enough to admit the light that is needed for 
the room inside. 

Only think how wonderful it would be if 
the window-curtains of a house could be so 
made as to open of themselves when the sky- 
was cloudy or the night was coming on, and 
draw themselves together as the darkness 
was passing away ! 

When you sleep, the shutters fall over the 
windows without your help, to keep them 
from being injured; and when you are 
awake, the shutters fall and rise frequently, 
not only to keep out the dust, but to wipe it 
away when it does get on ; so that the glass 
is always clean and bright. The shutters, 
called eyelids, are wonderful too, softer than 
the softest silk or chamois leather, and there 
is a little fountain that is always overflowing 
and furnishes the water for their work. 
Sometimes, w^hen the feelings are strongly 
excited, this fountain overflows more than 
at other times, and then there is weeping, 



34 INLETS AND OUTLETS. 

and the big tears that roll out do the soul 
good, as well as the eye. 

The window behind which the curtain hangs 
is shaped like the crystal of a watch. (See c 
in the engraving on page 35.) Beyond the 
curtain is a transparent, glass-like lens^ shaped 
like two bows put together, so as to form 
a figure with two rounded sides. Beyond 
this, the round room is filled with a liquid 
through which the light finds its way to 
the inside walls. These walls are black, 
and upon them is a thread-like arrangement, 
as if a cup-shaped flower made of finest lace 
were spread over them. This lace- work is 
called the retina, and all the threads of 
which it is formed come together at the 
back eye in a stem called the optic nerve, 
which runs back to the brain. On the ret- 
ina, with its lace-work of nerves, the pictures 
of trees and flowers and loved friends are 
formed, and along the optic nerve these pic- 
tures are carried to the mind. 

Perhaps an engraving will help you to un- 



SIGHT. 35 

derstand this better. Here is a section of the 
eye, or the way it would look if cut in half. 




h 

Section of the Eye. 
Cis the cornea — ''the window," we have called it; d, c?, the 
ms, or curtain ; e, the opening for the light — the pupil of the 
eye; back of it is the lens, through which the pictures pass to 
the round room filled with liquid, and 6, tlie black-coated sur- 
face on which the rays of light fall ; a, a, is the tough outside 
coat, called the sclerotic. 

In this little room, the eye, the images of 
objects much larger than yourself are drawn 
— large houses and lofty mountains, mea- 
dows with sheep and oxen, and wide rivers, 
all enter the eye at once. The strange thing 
is that though the pictures must be very 
small the objects they represent appear to 
the mind as large as they really are. 

This is due in part to our having seen 
these objects so often. 



36 INLETS AND OUTLETS, 

Thus you learn to measure distances, and 
know that the house a mile off, which to 
the young child would appear very small, is 
as large as the house you live in. 

I remember sailing down the Chesapeake 
Bay when I was five years old. The houses 
on the shore were so far off that they seemed 
to my childish fancy no larger than so many 
bird-cages ; and when I questioned the sailors, 
who had discovered my mistake, about their 
use, they found it no hard task to persuade 
me that the bats lived in them ; and for a 
long time after I desired to possess one of 
these bat-homes with the smoke curling out 
of the tiny chimney. 

To the very young child all objects seem 
equally near, and he tries to clutch the moon 
just as eagerly as he tries to clutch the can- 
dle. But the wonder is that the pictures of 
the moon and the candle and the faces we 
love should be painted in this globe-shaped 
little room at all — that the leaves of the 
tree should be drawn there, not as leaves are 



SIGHT. 37 

drawn on canvas by the hand of man, but 
trembling in the wind, and changing color 
every moment as they turn their faces to the 
light or turn them away. I will not try to 
make this wonder plain to you, for I am not 
sure that an angel could do that. 

All these impressions go from the eye to 
the soul. You look at a flower, and it makes 
you happy. You see the humming-bird 
thrust its long slender bill into the flower- 
cup, and you notice the rapid motion of its 
wings and its brilliant feathers ; and you 
cry out, " Oh how beautiful !" because your 
pleasure is so great that you have more than 
enough, and want others to share it. The 
shells on the sea-shore, the little rainbow 
that looks out of the dewdrop, the bright 
stars and the fire-fly with its tiny lantern, all 
make the soul glad through the eye. 

These beautiful pictures, thus painted on 
the wall of the little round room, quickly 
disappear one after the other to make way 
for new ones. But not until they have been 



38 INLETS AND OUTLETS. 

transferred to the memory. There they are 
put away as the artist puts away his sketches 
between the covers of his portfolio, and the 
mind often looks at them and the soul is 
impressed by them long after they have 
faded from the eye. 

Now, you know there are many things you 
cannot see, either because they are so far off 
or because they are so small. But the tele- 
scope and the microscope have been invented 
as helps for the eye ; by means of the first 
distant objects are brought near; by means 
of the second very small objects are greatly 
enlarged. With the one we look at the stars, 
or at the distant ship that to the naked eye 
is but a speck on the sea ; with the other we 
look at the tiniest insect or the pistils and 
stamens of the flower ; and new wonders 
both in the heavens and on the earth are 
thus revealed to us. The glasses that give 
these instruments their power are shaped like 
the lens, as it is called, that is set behind the 
curtain of the eye ; so that in forming the 



SIGHT. 39 

eye God furnished the model for these con- 
trivances. 

The telescope is used chiefly for the study 
of the heavens ; and if King David had 
had one, supposing he had not, his concep- 
tions of God's wisdom and love would have 
been even more overpowering than they were. 
But it is often put to other uses. 

A gentleman who lived near the Hudson 
was accustomed to look through the telescope 
that stood upon the porch of his house at the 
steamboat as it came up the river, to see 
whether the friends he expected were on 
board. This same gentleman had many 
hands at work on his farm of six hundred 
acres. He made it a rule that no one should 
smoke on the grounds during working-hours ; 
and more than once, by means of his tele- 
scope, did he detect one and another in the 
far distance breaking the rule. No matter 
how short the pipe was, it could be plainly 
seen ; and even the smoke was visible as it 
curled up from the forbidden bowl. 



40 INLETS AND OUTLETS. 

Another gentleman pointed his telescope 
one day across the river, and at the distance 
of a mile or more saw a lady friend walking 
upon the lawn in front of her dwelling, and 
the next day described to her minutely the 
very dress she wore. The lady seemed not 
altogether pleased with having been thus 
scrutinized when she thought she was alone. 
The reply of the gentleman to her complain- 
ing was: " How seldom do we think that there 
is an Eye ever upon us from which we cannot 
hide, and which discerns not only the color 
of the dress, but also the secrets of the 
heart!" 

One day the astronomer Mitchell was en- 
gaged in making some observations on the 
sun, and as it descended toward the horizon, 
just as it was setting, there came into the 
range of the great telescope the crest of a 
hill some miles away. On the top of that 
hill was a large number of apple trees, and 
in one of them were two boys stealing apples. 
One was getting the apples, and the other 



SIGHT. 41 

was watching to make certain that nobody- 
saw them, feeling that they were undiscovered. 
But there sat Professor Mitchell, miles away, 
with the great eye of his telescope directed 
fully upon them, seeing every movement 
they made as plainly as if he had been un- 
der the tree with them. So it is often with 
children, and also with grown persons. Be- 
cause they do not see the Eye that watches 
with a sleepless vigilance, they think they are 
not seen. But the great open eye of God is 
upon them, and not an action can be concealed. 
There is not a deed, there is not a word, there 
is not a thought, which is not known to God. 
The microscope reveals what was once a 
hidden world. Place a flower under it, and 
new wonders are brought to light. Perhaps 
you will see magnificent apartments like those 
of a palace inhabited by beings more bril- 
liant than gold and precious stones, and that 
were quite invisible to the naked eye. Seen 
under the microscope, every particle of dust 
on the butterfly's wing is a beautiful and 



42 INLETS AND OUTLETS. 

regularly organized feather, and the mouldy 
substance that usually adheres to damp 
bodies exhibits a forest of trees and plants 
whose branches, leaves and fruit are plainly 
distinguished. 

A microscope, it is said, has recently been 
constructed in New York which magnifies 
objects nine thousand million times. At this 
rate of enlargement, an ordinary fly could 
cover a space equal to New York city below 
Wall street, a man would appear more than 
a hundred miles high, and a hair of the 
ordinary length from a lady's head would 
reach half-way from New York to New 
Haven. Yet under this enormous magnify- 
ing power the creations of the Lord only 
display new beauties. A microscopic shell, 
called an angulatum^ of which about one 
hundred and forty, placed end to end, will 
reach an inch, and which, when examined 
under ordinarily powerful microscopes, is 
simply marked with lines of the most ex- 
quisite delicacy, exhibits under the new in- 



SIGHT, 43 

strument half globes of white flint whose 
diameters appear to be an inch and three^ 
quarters, and of which only fifteen can be 
seen at once. In reality, the point of a cam- 
bric needle is larger than the circle upon 
wdiich these fifteen half globes exist, and yet 
that circle appears like a dessert-plate covered 
with lady-apples. 

But I cannot tell you of all the wonders 
which the eye, aided or unaided, reveals to 
the soul. You see many of them every day, 
and you would see more if you used your 
eyes right. 

Are you in want of amusement? You 
need not go far to get it. There is not a 
leaf or a pebble that will not entertain you 
if you seek its acquaintance. There are 
friends all around you ; the birds, the insects, 
the moss that grows on the rocks and the 
rocks on which it grows, all say, " Come 
with us, and we will do you good.'' 

That you may know these friends the bet- 
ter, buy a magnifying-glass such as you can 



44 INLETS AND OUTLETS. 

carry in your pocket with the first dollar 
you can earn and feel at liberty to spend 
for yourself. Carry it with you wherever 
you go, especially when you walk along the 
shore of the sea or in the woods. Beneath 
every stone there may be a study — something 
that God has made for you to look at, and 
that will tell you more of his wisdom and 
love than you knew before. 

On old fences and the bark of trees you will 
find curious plants called lichens, their short 
stems sometimes bearing red or orange-colored 
crowns, interspersed with strangely-formed 
leaves that do not wither; and among the 
shadows of these leaves and beneath these 
coral-like crowns you may see the little winged 
creatures that have chosen these forests for 
their summer homes. The fern, and the clo- 
ver-blossom, and the feather that has dropped 
from the wing of some free, happy bird, are 
all waiting to tell you something new. 

^^ Eyes or no eyes ? " is the question that 
may determine what you are, and what you 



SIGHT, 45 

are to be — whether you are making little or 
much of life, whether you are laying up 
knowledge every day, or whether you are 
empty-minded, unable to amuse yourself or 
instruct others. 

^'That boy," said a gentleman, "always 
seems to me to be on the lookout for some- 
thing to see." 

So he was. While waiting in a newspaper- 
oflSce for a package, he learned, by using his 
eyes, how a mailing machine was operated. 
While he waited at the florist's, he saw the 
man setting a great box of cuttings, and 
learned by the use of his eyes what he 
never would have guessed— that slips rooted 
best in nearly pure sand. 

" This is lapis-lazuli," said the jeweler to 
his customer, " and this is chrysoprase." 

The wide-awake errand-boy so used his 
eyes that in future he knew just how those 
precious stones looked. In one day he learned 
of the barber what became of the hair-clip- 
pings ; of the carpenter, how to drive a nail 



46 INLETS AND OUTLETS, 

SO as not to split the wood ; of the shoemaker, 
how the different surfaces of fancy leathers 
are made ; of a locust, that its mouth was of 
no use to it in singing ; from a scrap of 
newspaper, where sponges are to be obtained ; 
and from an old Irishwoman, how to keep 
stove-pipes from rusting — only bits and* 
fragments of knowledge, but all of them 
worth saving, and all helping to increase the 
stock in trade of the boy who meant to be a 
man. 

'' How does it happen," was once said to a 
busy man who had very little time for read- 
ing and study, but whose mind was a perfect 
storehouse of information on almost every 
subject — " how does it happen that you know 
so much more than rest of us ?" 

*' Oh," said he, " I never had time to lay 
in a regular stock of learning, so I save all 
the bits that come in my way, and they count 
up a good deal in the course of the year." 

You understand of course that the eyes 
are to be used so as to please and honor Him 



SIGHT. 47 

who made them. Like the windows of a 
temple, they must let in the pure light of 
heaven — nothing must enter and nothing 
must go out that defiles. 

There are times when you must keep your 
eyes shut, when you must turn them away, 
lest they look upon objects that will leave a 
stain upon the soul. 

Temptation often comes through the eye — 
the desire to do forbidden things — or things 
that are dangerous — and the door must be 
closed and bolted, or the enemy will force its 
way in. 

" Look not upon the wine when it is red, 
when it giveth its color in the cup, when it 
moveth itself aright ; for at last it biteth like 
a serpent and stingeth like an adder." This 
was the advice of Solomon to the young. It 
was indeed more than advice — it was a sol- 
emn and imperative caution. They were not 
even to look upon the wine — not to let its 
glowing color and bright sparkle enter the 
eye; for the very sight of it might create 



48 INLETS AND OUTLETS. 

a wrong appetite or rouse one that was 
slumbering. He may have had in his 
thoughts a son of his own who had become 
a slave to the tempting drink, and had 
staggered, it may be, more than once into the 
palace door, and fallen bereft of reason be- 
neath the richly-laden table, and who wanted 
to rid himself of the terrible habit that had 
robbed him of his manhood and his self-con- 
trol. He is told that if he would be free he 
must not even hole upon the wine. This may 
seem strange to you, but there are many to 
whom it is not strange. There are many who 
will tell you that the very glow and sparkle 
of the wine fires the bad appetite within 
them, and that they are safe only when they 
refuse to look. It is wise not to become 
familiar with the sight of any temptation. 

You see two boys fighting in the street. 
At first you are alarmed and run away, 
then pause, perhaps, and turn and look, 
then draw a little nearer. The next time the 
scene is less repulsive, and you do not run, 



SIGHT. 49 

but only retire slowly with a backward step, 
keeping your eyes all the while upon the 
heavy, passionate blows. Then you begin to 
relish the battle, and think it fun. If any 
boy reads these words with a smile, all I have 
to say is, he has made bad use of his eyes. 
His own feelings are less gentle and kind and 
peaceful than they ought to be, because his 
eyes have made him so familiar with the vio- 
lent passions of others that they have lost 
much of their repulsiveness. You do not 
suppose that when Jesus was a boy he ever 
looked upon such scenes with any other than 
emotions of pity and sorrow ? And he is to 
be your model. 

I read of a boy the other day who under- 
stood this matter. He had been quite sick. 
While he was slowly recovering, and just able 
to be up and about the room, he was left alone 
a short time, when his sister came in eating 
a piece of cake. His mother had told him 
that he must eat nothing but what she gave 
him, and that it would not be safe for him to 

4 



50 INLETS AND OUTLETS. 

have what the other children had till he was 
stronger. 

His appetite was coming back ; the cake 
looked inviting ; he wanted very much to 
take a bit of it, and his sister would gladly 
have given it to him. What did he do ? 

'' Jennie/' said he, " you must run right 
out of the room, away from me, with that 
cake ; and /7/ keep my eyes shut while you 
go, so that I sha'n't want it." 

A very sure way it was for that boy of seven 
years to get rid of temptation. 

Do you smile, and think he made a great 
fuss about a small matter? You have no 
reason to smile, for it was this that gave the 
temptation its greatest power. Many reason 
themselves into sin by regarding it as a tri- 
fle. What harm, they say, can there be in 
eating a little forbidden cake ? If they were 
alone with a bag of gold belonging to anothei*, 
they would not be tempted to take it, because 
the sin would be so great — it is the little sin 
that tempts them most. It follows that the 



SIGHT. 51 

boy who shut his eyes upon the cake was 
more courageous, performed an act of greater 
self-denial, in all probability, than if it had 
been a heap of gold ; for he desired the cake, 
while the gold, I suppose, would not have 
tempted him at all. Shut your eyes against 
what some call little sins, or you will soon 
look upon big ones without compunction or 
alarm. Do not look upon anything that will 
pollute your memory or leave a spot upon 
your soul. 

Do not imagine it easy, at all times, to shut 
your eyes or turn them away from forbidden 
objects. It requires a strong will — a will 
that is accustomed to determine what is right 
— such a will as God gives in answer to 
prayer. And there is often a mighty strug- 
gle before even such a will prevails. 

Said a mother to her son as he went into 
the garden to work, " Touch nothing that 
does not belong to you/' He intended to obey 
his mother, but this did not prevent him 
from looking at a choice pear tree on which 



52 INLETS AND OUTLETS. 

the fruit was fast ripening. There was no 
disobedience in that, for his mother had not 
said, ''Look not," but "Touch not." So he 
stood for an instant gazing on the tree, 
and that instant he was conscious of a feel- 
ing which reminded him vividly of his 
mother's words, " Touch nothing that does 
not belong to you ;" then he quickly with- 
drew his eyes from the tempting object, and 
with great diligence pursued his occupation. 
The fruit was forgotten, and he had nearly 
reached the end of the bed he had been 
ordered to clear. Collecting in his hands the 
heap of weeds he had laid beside him, he re- 
turned to deposit them in the wheelbarrow 
that stood near the peartree. Again the 
glowing fruit met his eye, more beautiful, 
more tempting, than ever, for he was hot 
and thirsty. He stood still, gazing longingly 
at the pears ; his heart beat ; his mother's 
command was heard no more ; his resolution 
was gone. He looked around ; there was no 
one but himself in the garden. 



SIGHT, 53 

"They never can miss one out of so 
many/' said he to himself. 

He made a step — only one ; he was now in 
reach of his prize. He darted forth his hand 
to seize, when at the very moment a sparrow 
from a neighboring tree, calling its com- 
panion, to his startled ear seemed to say : 

" Jem, Jem !" 

He sprang to the walk ; his hand fell to 
his side; his whole frame shook; and no 
sooner had he recovered himself than he fled 
from the spot. 

Now he worked with greater diligence than 
ever, but not once again did he trust himself 
to look on the fruit which had nearly led him 
to commit so great a fault. The sparrow 
chirped again as he was leaving the garden ; 
but he had no reason now to be startled at 
the sound. 

That was a severe fight with desire ; and 
the temptation that entered the eye would 
have conquered the soul, had not the sparrow 
been sent to help conscience in the struggle. 



54 INLETS AND OUTLETS, 

Then, again, it is right, at times, to shut 
our eyes to the faults of others. It is never 
right to look at them through a magnifying- 
glass and make them greater than they are. 
What you think of others depends very 
much upon the use of your eyes. Some are 
constantly looking for the weaknesses and 
failings of others, and see nothing else — 
others are looking for what is good in them ; 
and thus it happens that two persons often 
form a very different opinion of the same 
individual. 

Some use their eyes to minister to their 
own pride or to apologize for their own 
wrong-doing. The boy who is mean 
watches for all the signs of meanness in 
other boys, and then quiets his conscience 
by saying to himself, " Well, others are no 
better than I.'^ And the boy who is studi- 
ous, and stands at the head of his class, is 
sometimes tempted to look with pleasure upon 
the dullness or idleness of others that makes 
him their superior. 



SIGHT. 55 

A painter was once engaged upon a like- 
ness of Alexander the Great. In the course 
of his battles, Alexander had received an 
ugly scar on the side of his face. The artist 
wanted to give a correct likeness of the mon- 
arch, and at the same time wanted to hide 
the scar. It w^as a difficult task. But at 
length he hit upon a happy expedient. He 
painted him in a reflective attitude, his hand 
placed against his head, while his fingers 
covered the scar. 

The best men are not without their failings 
— their scars ; but do not dwell upon them. 
In speaking of them to others adopt the 
painter's expedient, and let the finger be 
placed upon them. 

Your own faults you must not hide from 
youy own eyes. Others will be sure to see 
them ; and from the eye of God, you well 
know, they cannot be concealed. Not to 
look at yourself, therefore, would only lead to 
self-deception. Your j)rayer should not only 
be, " Lord, search me, and try me," but. Give 



56 INLETS AND OUTLETS. 

me an eye to my own wrong-doing and 
neglect of doing; enable me to search my- 
self, that I may discover the sin that is in my 
own soul, and give me courage to fight it 
and strength to conquer it. 

Look out for the rocks of temptation, 
against which you will be driven if you do 
not keep a vigilant eye upon yourself. 

A gentleman crossing the English Chan- 
nel stood near the helmsman. It was a calm 
and pleasant evening, and no one dreamed 
of possible danger to their good ship. But 
a sudden flapping of the sail, as if the wind 
had shifted, caught the ear of the officer on 
watch, and he sprang at once to the wheel 
and closely examined the compass. 

" You are half a point off* the course,^' he 
said, sharply, to the man at the wheel. The 
deviation was corrected, and the officer re- 
turned to his post. 

" You must steer very accurately," said the 
looker-on, " when half a point is so much 
thought of" 



SIGHT, 57 

" Ah, half a pomt, in some places, might 
bring us on the rocks," was the answer. 

So it is in life. Half a point from strict 
truthfulness may strand you on the rocks of 
falsehood. Half a point from perfect honesty, 
and you are steering straight for the rocks of 
crime. And so of all kindred vices. The 
beginnings are always small deviations from 
the right course. So have your eye upon 
the compass — God's word — and upon your 
own heart that it may not deviate in the least. 

A lady was once sailing down the East 
River with her son, along what was then 
a very dangerous channel. The boy watched 
the old steersman with great interest, and ob- 
served that whenever he came near to a 
stick of painted wood he changed his course. 

" Why do you turn out for those bits of 
wood ?" asked the boy. 

The old man looked up from under his 
shaggy brows, too much taken up with the 
task to talk, and simply growled out, 
" Rocks !" 



•58 INLETS AND OUTLETS, 

'' Well, I would not turn out for those bits 
of wood," said the thoughtless boy ; " I would 
go right over them." 

The old man replied only by a look which 
that boy has not forgotten in his manhood. 
" Poor foolish lad !" it said ; " how little you 
know about rocks !" 

Yes, it requires not only a vigilant but a 
practiced eye to detect tlie evil that is in your 
own heart — to detect the smallest risings of 
evil, which, though they may seem but as 
bits of painted board, point to the perils 
that lie beyond. Open your eyes wide, 
then, when you look at yourself, and do not 
let any one of your faults escape your scru- 
tiny. 

If you really love others, if you are not 
envious or proud, if you do not want to hide 
your own faults in the shadow of theirs, if 
you really want to do them good and to make 
them better, why, then there will be no dan- 
ger to yourself in seeing wdiat is wrong in 
them. Then your eyes will awaken your 



SIGHT. 59 

pity, and you will try to lead them from 
what is wrong to what is right. 

Thank God that he has given you eyes, 
and created the light, and made this beauti- 
ful world for the light to shine upon, and 
that he has given you a soul to which this 
beauty is revealed. Thank him for the 
green hills, and the bright plumage of the 
birds, and the little insects with their burn- 
ished wings. Thank him that upon every- 
thing he has made is written, " God is love." 

There are many into whose eyes the light 
has never come, who have never seen the 
green hills or the wing of bird or insect. 
They have reason to be thankful too, for they 
can be happy without eyes ; they can love 
the friends they have never seen, and form 
pictures in the mind of the clouds and the 
meadows, and talk about them and write 
about them so well that you wonder how, with 
all this knowledge and this conception of 
color and form, they can be blind. 

I do not say that they have reason to be 



60 INLETS AND OUTLETS. 

less thankful than you ; I only say that 
you have reason to be more thankful than 
they. They have one thing in common with 
you, the eye of the soul, reason and con- 
science; and for this they cannot be too 
thankful. But you have an instrument, be- 
sides, that gives you visions of the outward 
world which cannot be to them precisely 
what they are to you. Many as their joys 
may be without sight, if their eyes were 
opened, and they could look upon the faces 
of the friends they love, upon the green of 
the meadows and the purple of the violet, 
they would have another joy. 

Be thankful, then, for what you have in 
common with them, and thankful also for 
what they have not. Be especially thank- 
ful that you can see God in everything — 
that the grass and the flowers are, or are in- 
tended to be, more to you than they are to 
the ox or the sheep. 

Ask God to open the eyes of your under- 
standing, and take the Bible with you wher- 



SIGHT. 61 

ever you go as a help to your vision. 
Treasure its truths in your memory and 
your heart. It is a telescope to bring the 
distant near. It is a microscope to make 
the hidden plain. Without it God's love in 
Christ would be out of sight, and the objects 
that are near — the grass at your feet and the 
showers that water it — would not express that 
love as they do now. 

The Bible tells you of Christ from beginning 
to end ; and he has been sent to open the 
eyes of the blind — to open your eyes and let 
you see what God is in himself, and what he 
is to you. Not until you feel that you are 
blind will you begin to see ; not until you are 
willing to be led will you be kept from 
stumbling. 

A blind boy stood on the sidewalk one 
morning with his head bent forward as if 
earnestly listening. 

"Shall I help you across the street, my 
little friend?" said one who was passing 

by. 



62 INLETS AND OUTLETS. 

'' Oh no, thank you ; I am waiting for my 
father." 

'' Can you trust your father ?'' 

^^ Oh yes ; my father always takes good 
care of me, leads me all the time ; and when 
he has my hand, I feel perfectly safe." 

" But why do you feel safe ?" 

Raising his sightless eyes, with a sweet 
smile and look of perfect trust, he replied, 

" Oh, because my father knows the way. I 
am blind, but he can see." 

"My father knows the way !" If you can 
say that of God, with your hand in his, you 
are perfectly safe, in whatever path you may 
walk. God's hand and word — the one to 
keep you from falling, the other to shed 
light upon the way, and the clear vision 
which his Spirit gives in answer to prayer — 
these are more than the outward eye ; they 
are the helps without which it can see 
nothing as it is. 

The city of Venice, in Italy, is built on 
eighty-two islands, and these are divided by 



SIGHT. 63 

one hundred and fifty canals, on which 
great numbers of gondolas or water-coaches 
move gayly and swiftly along. Besides the 
canals, there, are also many streets on the 
solid ground through' which one can walk. 
They are very narrow and winding. Crooked 
and crowded as they are, one may easily 
have all the points of the compass tangled 
up for him, and lose his way. But see what 
kind ingenuity long ago provided. Into the 
smooth street pavement a line in white mar- 
ble has been laid. Following that, the 
traveler will come in safety to the well- 
known bridge, the Ponte di Rialto, Once 
there, he is at home again. The white line 
is a silent, infallible guide. It was laid 
deeply at first, and although trodden upon 
for centuries has not been worn away. It 
is never hidden. On a muddy day every 
foot that treads upon it exposes it to view. 
At night the gleam of the street-lamps re- 
veals it. The old tourists in Venice say to 
the new tourists, "Follow the ivliite lineP 



64 INLETS AND OUTLETS, 

In the crowded, crooked way of life a 
white line has been laid. The pure and 
beautiful and perfect life of Jesus has been set 
into your path. You need not err. You 
need not be lost. It is a line that is ever 
lighted up. There are no dark places to 
make you stumble. 

Walk on the lohite line, while to Him who 
is the light of the world you offer the 
prayer : 

" Be thou my guide to day, 
My arm whereon to rest, 
My sun to cheer me on my way, 
My shield to guard my breast. 

"From Satan's fiery dart 

And men of purpose base, 
And from the plague of my own heart, 
Defend me by thy grace." 



HEARING. 



He that hath ears to hear, let hwi hear. — Matt. xi. 15, 
5 




|F the ear is not an outlet as well as 
m an inlet to the mind, it can employ 
the hand, the eye, the tongue, to give 
utterance to the emotions awakened 
by the sounds that enter it. When these 
sounds create terror, it quivers in the eye, or 
trembles in the voice, or is seen in the up- 
lifted hand ; and when they create joy the 
eye reveals it, or else it revels in words or 
dances in the very motion of the fingers. In 
some animals the ear itself betrays the first 
sign of fear or pleasure. Thus the horse 
turns his elongated, funnel-shaped ear, which 
is movable in all directions, quickly toward 
the point from which the sound comes. 

The ear has its own work to do, and this 
work is as different from that of the eye as 
the song of the bird is different from the 
color of its wings. 

67 



68 INLETS AND OUTLETS, 

"What in ordinary language we call the 
ear is only the outer porch or entrance of a 
curious series of intricate, winding passages 
which, like the lobbies of a great building, 
lead from the outer air into the inner 
chambers." In this porch the waves of 
sound are collected, and thence pass through 
the smaller opening, called the auditory ca- 
nal, and strike a membrane that is stretched 
very much as the parchment is stretched 
across the head of a drum. 

Next, the sounds are carried along a chain 
of very small bones, through a passage filled 
with air, to another membrane, and thence 
through passages full of liquid, until they 
reach the auditory nerve, which is spread out 
like rows of fine threads, and which carries 
the bird-note, or the chirp of the cricket, or 
the merry laugh, or the blast of a trumpet, 
to the mind. 

We do not know so much about the ear as 
about the eye, but we know this — that when 
a sound strikes it all the parts are set in 



HEARING. 69 

motion ; the membranes tremble, and the air 
or liquid in the passages that lead to the 
thread-like nerves is stirred, and the little 




Internal Structure o^ the Ear. 

You will see in the engraving something of the structure of 
the ear. A is the outer ear, the porch, from which the tube, 
J5, passes to a ring, (7, on which is stretched the membrane 
which is like the parchment head of a drum. D E, is the little 
chain of bones, (r is a tube opening into the back of the 
mouth and admitting the air behind the tympanum, or drum, 
so that it may vibrate and not burst. It serves the purpose of 
the hole in the drum. 

chain of bones and the nerves themselves 
vibrate, just like the strings of the piano 
when they are struck; and thus the im- 



70 INLETS AND OUTLETS. 

pression, whether it be pleasant or other- 
wise, reaches the mind. 

By means of this little piece of mechanism 
most sounds can be as easily distinguished 
by the ear as colors are distinguished by the 
eye, so that you would never mistake the 
braying of an ass for the dash of a waterfall, 
or the music of a flute, or the tones of anger 
for those of gentleness and love. 

The varieties of sound are almost endless, 
from the roll of the thunder down to the 
faint whisper of the wind among the trees. 
There is love in this — the love of that same 
Father who made the light to paint ever- 
changing pictures of beauty in the eye. 

The other day I rode through Fairmount 
Park, Philadelphia, and happy children were 
at play, clapping their hands and laughing 
merrily ; the birds were trilling their short, 
sweet notes ; there was the clatter, too, of the 
horses' hoofs. When at length the shadows 
of evening came, and the roads and play- 
grounds were deserted, the katydids began to 



HEARING. 71 

dispute with each other in their friendly 
way, the one saying " Katy did," and the 
other saying ^'Katy didn't" just as plainly, 
whilst the stroke of the oar could be heard 
near by upon the river. 

It is hard to tell at such a time whether 
pleasant sounds or sights are most agreeable 
to the mind, though it has been said that 
those who cannot see are happier than those 
who cannot hear. This may be true. I 
have seen the blind so full of merriment 
that they did not seem conscious of their 
loss. Especially when they are listening to 
music, or when they are creating it, do they 
seem more than satisfied with their con- 
dition. 

This will not appear strange if we remem- 
ber the power of music over the feelings, 
and how eager every one is to hear a re- 
nowned singer or a skillful player upon some 
instrument. The concert-room is more 
largely attended than the picture-gallery. 
Why, if not because music has greater 



72 INLETS AND OUTLETS, 

attraction than painting? A friend of mine 
who, on account of deafness, hears but little 
of the conversation that is going on around 
him, has told me more than once of his in- 
tense agony at times when he has seen with 
his eyes the pleasure created in the minds of 
others by words which he could not catch. 
At such times he feels alone. 

No one has illustrated this, as has been 
truly said, more touchingly than Dr. Kitto, 
in his book on the " Lost Senses," when re- 
ferring to his never having heard the voices 
of his children : " If there be any one thing 
arising out of my condition which more 
than another fills my heart with grief, it is 
this — it is to see their blessed lips in motion 
and to hear them not, and to witness others 
moved to smiles and kisses by the sweet 
peculiarities of infantile speech which are 
incommunicable to me, and which pass by 
me like the idle wind." 

Another wonder is that when sight or 
hearing is lost, the one or the other tries to 



HEARING, 73 

do double work, and really does more than 
its own share, and thus partly makes up for 
the loss. The blind employ the other senses 
in trying to make up for the loss of the one. 
I will tell you now only of the use they make 
of the ear, and let touch, taste and smell 
come in their turn. In music they depend 
very much upon the ear for their knowledge 
of tunes and their ability to reproduce them 
with the voice or the instrument. Perhaps 
you have heard Blind Tom play the piano. 
All his wonderful skill has been acquired 
through the ear. In this way, by listening 
to the strains again and again, do the blind 
write them upon the memory, and read them 
so accurately with the eye of the mind as not 
only to sing the pieces that others sing, but 
to play together on different instruments 
quite as skillfully, perhaps, as if they had 
eyes. I have often noticed their rapt atten- 
tion in a concert-room. You can almost see 
their ears drink in the sweet and thrilling 
tones. They have nothing to do but listen. 



74 INLETS AND OUTLETS. 

No sight of beautiful dress or new fashion 
draws their thoughts away from the music; 
and for this reason the impression is deeper 
than it would be if they were blessed with 
sight. 

There are times when it is well to hear and 
not to see — when the ear alone should be 
used. The eye may divert the ear from its 
peculiar work, and thus interfere with it, in- 
stead of helping it, as when the sight of boys 
at play prevents you from listening intently 
to your father's or mother's words. In 
this respect you should not allow the blind 
to have the advantage. When the time comes 
to hear, and only hear, whether in the house 
of God or anywhere else, you should do 
with your eyes as though you had them 
not. Thus we shut our eyes in prayer. 

In the effort of the ear to do the work of 
the eye it becomes highly educated — ex- 
tremely sensitive to the effects and variations 
of sound. Not long ago I heard a gentle- 
man of Philadelphia say that as he was 



■,i|ip'!i!lli:.llll!l.,l,r^.,lMlh' n,^ 




^A^ 




Blind Men and Hobse. 



HEARING. 77 

walking one day in Chestnut street he 
noticed quite a procession of young men 
who were blind passing along with a some- 
what quick step on the opposite side. In 
advance of them a horse had been tied, 
and was standing directly across the side- 
walk, so as to interfere with their progress. 
Curious to know how they would manage, he 
watched their movements with great interest. 
As those who took the lead approached the 
horse they walked somewhat more cautiously, 
and when within a few feet of him turned 
off the sidewalk, and came on again after 
they had passed the obstruction. All the 
rest did the same. The gentleman then 
crossed the street and asked one of the 
young men how they knew that a horse was 
in their way. He said they did not know it 
was a horse, but from the altered sound of 
their tread upon the pavement they knew 
that something was in their way. 

In recognizing their friends the blind have 
to call upon the ear to do the work of the eye, 



78 INLETS AND OUTLETS. 

and thus it becomes acutely sensitive to the 
natural and fixed differences of tone in the 
voices of different individuals. Even those 
who can see use the ear more or less for this 
purpose. You know when your father enters 
the door if you only hear him speak. But 
with the blind this power is much greater, 
and enables them to distinguish one friend 
from another, not only by the voice, but 
often even by the step. This it is that makes 
the pleasure of hearing so intense to them. 
As the ear has to perform double duty, it is 
also the medium of conveying a double joy 
to the mind — that which usually comes 
through the eye, as well as that which it 
brings by doing its own peculiar work. 
When those who can see meet their friends, 
we may say that both the eye and the ear are 
made glad. Each of these organs carries to 
the soul a part of the joy created by their 
presence. . 

But you must not suppose that the ear in 
this case awakens so much pleasure as vvlien 



HEARING. 79 

the other inlet to the mind, the eye, is shut 
and dark. 

Thus it is that God gives the blind a com- 
pensation for their loss of sight by making 
the joy of hearing greater to them than it is 
to those who have eyes. If you look into 
their faces you will see this ; for you will 
notice that they are not only quick in dis- 
tinguishing sounds, but are impressed by 
them as you are not. They show deeper 
feeling than you do when the voice of a 
friend falls upon your ear. The song of the 
bird is doubtless a greater joy to one who is 
blind than it would be if he had the use of 
the lost sense to aid him in forming a concep- 
tion of its beauty. 

So the eyes of those who cannot hear do 
what they can of the work that belongs to 
the ears. Perhaps you have seen the deaf 
and dumb talk with their fingers ? This 
" sign language," as it is called, reaches the 
mind through the eye, which at times be- 
comes so keen and practiced as to read the 



80 INLETS AND OUTLETS, 

thoughts and words of others just by watch- 
ing the motion of their lips when they are 
speaking. Tliey also learn to write with 
pencil and pen, and to read what is written 
or printed ; and in this way they form ideas 
of sounds which they have never heard. 
These ideas are often so wonderfully correct 
that they are enabled to describe the song of 
the bird quite as truthfully as they picture 
the beautiful colors of the flowers. 

Those who cannot hear see more than those 
who can. They learn to use their eyes where 
others trust their ears only or in part. As they 
cannot hear angry or pleasant words, they 
learn to judge from the looks of others what 
their feelings really are. And in doing this 
they notice what you would not notice — the 
slightest frown or smile. It is said that the 
deaf are suspicious, but this may be because 
they are so skilled in reading the thoughts 
of others, even when written in faintest lines 
upon their faces. 

Let your feelings be always kind and full 



HEARING. 81 

of love, and then the most practiced and 
watchful eye will see nothing but love and 
kindness in your looks. 

I have been telling you of the power of 
the eye and the ear to help each other when 
help is needed. In this we see the wisdom 
and the love of God, who thus enables one 
of the senses to do, in part at least, the 
w^ork of another, without neglecting its 
own. 

But now I want to talk about those who 
can hear. In doing this I intend to speak 
of the ear first as an avenue of pleasure^ 
and then as a sentinel on the lookout for 
danger. 

I have already said something about the 
ear as an inlet of enjoyment to the soul. But 
whether it is an avenue of pleasure or not 
depends very much upon how you hear. If 
you listen to the birds with a fretful temper, 
their singing will not make you happy ; it 
will only irritate you, and make you more 
fretful. I knew a man once who could not 



82 INLETS AND OUTLETS. 

bear to have the robins build their nests and 
sing their songs in the trees of his garden. 
Their sweetest notes were like the rasping of 
a saw to him, and made him very uncom- 
fortable. He was a good man, too, but his 
ear was very much out of order. The little 
thread-like nerves were out of tune, and 
sent discord instead of harmony into his 
soul. 

The health of the soul itself has often 
much to do with the manner of hearing. If 
the soul is not right, if it is not full of love 
for others, if, on the contrary, it is full of 
envy and ill-will, the sweetest sounds will be 
the most unwelcome. Take the case of a 
boy, or a man either, who is cowardly and 
mean and selfish ; what effect would it have 
upon him to hear of the heroism and gener- 
osity of some one else ? Why, it would em- 
bitter his feelings, because the same words 
that uttered the praise of another would 
utter his own condemnation. 

A heroic boy was one day driving the 



HEARING. 83 

COWS from the pasture into the barnyard, 
and as he was crossing the railway track he 
stopped suddenly and turned pale, for some 
wretch had removed several rails, and un- 
less the engineer could be warned in season 
the coming train would be dashed to utter 
ruin. 

With wonderful rapidity the noble boy 
gathered a pile of brushwood on the track 
and set it on fire. There was a careful en- 
gineer on the train, and as he caught a glimpse 
of the fire the short, sharp whistle nerved 
every brakeman to his duty, and the train was 
saved. '' Let us pray," said a white-haired 
minister who was one of the crowd of passen- 
gers, and instantly men, women and chil- 
dren knelt down on the grass, and joined 
with him in thanks for their deliverance. 
And as the story of what the brave boy had 
done went from ear to ear you can imagine 
how many hearts were made glad by it. But 
when the tidings of that wonderful escape 
and of the deed of that heroic boy came to 



84 INLETS AND OUTLETS. 

the ears of him who had planned the mis- 
chief, it was anything but joy to him. 

If your own soul is full of self-reproach, 
you will hate to hear the joyous laugh of the 
little child that tells you of a soul at ease. 

Take heed, then, how you hear ; for if the 
glad words of others make you sad, it may 
be that your soul is at fault. You should hear 
God's voice of love in all pleasant sounds, 
and in order to do this you must be in love 
with God. 

Let me remind you now that there are 
other sounds than those which come from 
the woods and the clouds — the songs of the 
birds, and the pattering of the rain upon 
thirsty fields. These are pleasant, telling 
us of our heavenly Father's love, and should 
draw our hearts to him, but God speaks 
to you also in his word, and this voice of 
his you are to hear gladly. Every message 
of his that falls upon your ear should be wel- 
come. You have been told of his love in 
sending his Son to save you, and of the equal 



HEARING, 85 

love of that Son in giving his life as a ran- 
som for your life. The song heard by the 
shepherds of Bethlehem, " Glory to God in 
the highest^ and on earth peace, good-will 
toward men," should be sweeter to vou, 
should bring greater joy, than all the music 
of birds, of waterfalls and of soft-whispering 
winds. 

Hear this voice of God so as to understand 
it, and so as to be made glad by it in your 
own soul. Welcome every command of his, 
because obedience will enable you to show 
your love to him. Hear and heed. Give 
attention. You have heard of those who let 
the most serious and momentous words — 
God's own words of love — enter one ear and 
go out of the other. These are heedless per- 
sons. The ear is reached, and all its parts 
are set in motion, but the sound dies away 
before it reaches the mind. 

I have often noticed this when I have 
witnessed the singing of familiar hymns by 
a hundred voices or more. All enjoyed the 



86 INLETS AND OUTLETS. 

music as a pleasant sound, but many showed 
by their trifling behavior that their hearts 
were not at all impressed by the words, 
whilst the seriousness of others proved that 
it was music for the soul as well as for the 
ear. 

It is the business of the ear to write im- 
pressions, as it is the business of the eye to 
draw pictures, upon the memory. Remem- 
bered words — how they abide! and when 
they are words of love, what joy there is in 
recalling them ! 

More than a hundred years ago a child of 
German parents was carried away from the 
neighborhood of Carlisle, Pennsylvania, by 
the Indians, during the French and Indian 
war. This captive child taught another lit- 
tle girl to pray to the Lord Jesus, and to re- 
peat the hymns her mother had taught her. 
When, at the end of nine years, she was re- 
leased with four hundred others, her mother 
could not select her from the number, for 
years and life among these Indians had 



HEARING, 87 

greatly changed her. At last her mother 
thought of a hymn she used to sing : 

''Alone, yet not alone, am I, 

Though in this solitude so drear ; 

I feel my Saviour always nigh, 

He comes the weary hour to cheer. 

I am with him, and he with me, 

E'en here, alone I cannot be.'' 

Scarcely had the poor mother sung two 
lines of the hymn when the daughter rushed 
through the crowd, began to sing it too and 
threw herself into her mother's arms. The 
sounds, falling upon the daughter's ear, 
reached her mind, awakened a long-lost 
memory ; and thus restored her to the long- 
ing parent. 

By your spoken words are impressions 
thus written upon the minds of others every 
day — written for the most part without your 
knowing it, carried from your lips to some 
waiting ear, through which to enter as a gate- 
way to the soul, there to abide for ever. 

Here I would say, Not only be watchful 
over your words, that they may be wise and 



88 INLETS AND OUTLETS, 

winning, but be watchful over your heart, 
that only love may dwell there. Then the 
words that come out of it will need no watch- 
ing, for they will always be like the good seed, 
which, though it may fall upon barren places, 
is good nevertheless, and though it may be 
unproductive, never grows into thorns and 
weeds. 

You have heard perhaps of " unconscious 
influenced This means that you are ever at 
work making others happy or unhappy with- 
out intending or knowing it. You have an 
influence over others when you are not con- 
scious of influencing them. There is no way 
in which you do this more frequently than 
by the words you speak. 

It is related that when Thorwaldsen, the 
famous sculptor, returned to his native land, 
with those wonderful marbles which have 
made his name immortal, chiseled w-ith 
patient toil and glowing aspiration during his 
studies in Italy, the servants who opened 
them scattered upon the ground the straw in 



HEARING, 89 

which they were packed. The next summer 
flowers from the 2:ardens of Rome were bios- 
soming in the streets of Copenhagen from 
the seeds thus accidentally planted. The 
genius that wrought grandly in marble had 
unconsciously planted beauty by the way- 
side. Thus if you are forming noble thoughts 
and deeds in your own soul, the words in 
which they are wrapped, carried by the wind 
to some other soul, will perhaps blossom into 
beautiful thoughts and deeds that have never 
grown there before. 

At a fashionable watering-place, where the 
thoughtless throng sways in and out of the 
great dining-room, and the endless clatter of 
tongues and cutlery seems to drown every 
holy thought, a venerable, silver-haired old 
gentleman was accustomed to walk slowly 
in at the head of his Christian family and 
take his seat at the head of the table. 
Instantly the laughing faces of a tableful of 
diners assumed a reverential look. The 
knives and forks rested silently on the table, 



90 INLETS AND OUTLETS. 

and the silver-haired Christian, with clasped 
hands, modestly uttered a prayer of thanks. 
The words were few and soon spoken, 
but all day long they seemed to float in 
the air, and to ring like heavenly music 
upon the ears of the listeners. A mother 
who occupied the room next to that of the 
good old man used to kneel down every 
night with her children by his door to hear 
him when he prayed, feeling, she said, that 
nothing could happen to her and hers while 
they were so near to him. Here, too, in the 
heart of this mother and the hearts of 
these children, flowers grew up by the 
wayside from seeds unconsciously planted. 

Perhaps that mother was thus taught to 
pray, and her words, in turn, were heard by 
her children, and they too have learned to 
pray. 

Mr. Henry Holbeach, an English gentle- 
man, tells this story of himself: ^^One of 
my very earliest recollections is of kneeling 
down in a darkened room while mv mother 



HEARING. 91 

prayed aloud. In the morning, at noon 
and again at night that was her custom, and 
the habit of engaging in devout exercises 
three times a day has never left me — is a 
habit which no preoccupation ever breaks 
through." The sweet words of prayer, 
falling upon the ear from a mother's lips, 
have made many a life a life of prayer. 

Sometimes, indeed, the ear is made the 
avenue of pain. Words of unkindness — how 
they rankle in the soul ! What torture they 
create whenever they are thought of ! There- 
fore be careful not to speak such words, for 
they make ugly wounds, and wounds that 
often never heal. 

The tongue and the ear go together, and 
for this reason the tongue is so dangerous 
when it utters unwise and unconsidered 
words. When you hear such words, the 
temptation is to fling others like them back, 
to give wound for wound. It is easy to see 
how this will end if it be not ended by the 
grace of silence. 



92 INLETS AND OUTLETS, 

One of the noblest and bravest things you 
can do at times is to hold your tongue, not 
to let it utter the bitter feelings which the 
words of others may have stirred within you. 
This can be done, but not easil3\ The Bible 
tells vou that it is easier to curb with bit and 
bridle the most unruly horse — that it is easier 
to tame the most deadly serpent or the most 
timid bird. But there is a strength not our 
own that will enable us to curb this unruly 
member. There is a wisdom not our own 
that will shape its words into sweetest music, 
so that they will ever make glad the ear, and 
never wound the soul into which they find 
their way. Come to me, says Jesus, and I 
will make you wise when you ought to speak, 
and give you the grace of silence when that 
is better than words. 

" I never answer back," said a tender, 
delicate child who w^as yet strong and firm 
in goodness. She was often placed in very 
trying circumstances, but her self-control 
never left her ; her patient kindness remained 



HEARING, 93 

unchanged. Her brothers and sisters were 
passionate and fitful, but their misdemean- 
ors were never visited with sharp rebuke. 
She never answered back to their peevish 
and complaining words. 

At times sadness was seen to come over her 
countenance like a heavy cloud, and large 
tear-drops rolled slowly down her cheeks ; 
but no temper-flashes ever disturbed the 
quiet beauty of her face, no violent emphasis 
ever broke the melody of her sweet voice. 
She would slowly leave the room to avoid a 
conflict. When, through some misunder- 
standing, she once received a painfully up- 
braiding letter, she stole softly to her cham- 
ber, and, as she told a friend afterward, 
hastened to God to get right feelings 
quickly. 

One day she was telling of a particular 
trial with one of the wayward children ; 
and when the friend to whom she opened all 
her heart asked her, " Well, what did you 
say ?" she answered, ^^ Oh, nothing. I only 



94 INLETS AND OUTLETS. 

kept still. You know ic does not make 
things better to answer back." 

" But what did you do ?" was again 
asked. 

" I just waited as patiently as I could un- 
til she got over it." 

" Kept still !" How wise, how heroic, how 
beautiful, to keep still, and bear in silence 
sharp, passionate words ! '' Just waited !" 
How admirable the grace of patience, to 
wait until the furious storm of anger is over, 
and never increase it by the utterance of a 
single word ! 

There is a style of talking to which the 
human ear too often loves to listen. Some- 
times it is called gossip, sometimes tale- 
bearing ; and when, as it is apt to do, it 
deviates from the truth, the Bible calls 
it bearing false witness against one's neigh- 
bor. When the ear allows this kind of talk 
to fall upon it, and the tongue repeats it, and 
it goes from ear to ear and from tongue to 
tongue, even if truthful when the first 



HEARING. 95 

tongue utters it and the first ear hears it 
before long it becomes a very different story 
from what it was at the beginning. 

There is a well-known fireside game, 
called scandal^ in which a story is whispered 
at one end of a social circle and passed round 
to the other. A tells it softly into the ear 
of B ; B -communicates it to C ; and so it 
goes on till it reaches Z, who tells it aloud 
for A to hear. It is then found that the 
story, in passing from one to the other, has so 
changed color and features that the one who 
told it first cannot recognize it. 

Amusing as this game is, it rebukes a 
very serious and very common fault — that 
of allowing scandal to be whispered in the 
ear at all. If it gives you pleasure to hear 
of the failings of others, you will want some 
one to share that pleasure, and so you 
will repeat the story in some other willing- 
ear, not precisely as you heard it, for that is 
next to impossible. 

As two persons looking at the same leaf 



96 INLETS AND OUTLETS. 

on the same tree must see it differently, so 
two persons must tell the same thing in a 
different way. Either by a change of words, 
or of voice, or of look, will one person make 
the story that was told to him differ. Even 
when the story is true, and the ear is attentive, 
and the intention is honest, there is danger 
of its getting out of shape before it goes far. 
But when the story is untrue, or, if true, is 
full of unkindness, the ear that loves to 
hear it for this very reason will pass it on 
to the next ear more ugly than it came. 

Again I say, be sure that your heart is 
full of love for others, and then you will al- 
ways hear with that charity which thinks 
no evil, and will speak with that charity 
which is ever kind and envies not. Hear 
as though you heard not when the repetition 
of what you hear would needlessly injure 
the feelings or reputation of another. 

Let me now give you another hint in re- 
gard to the use of your ears. When you are 
in company, listen to those who are talking, 



HEARING, 97 

especially if the conversation is at all ad- 
dressed to you. This is nothing more than 
Christian politeness. 

I have seen persons who when spoken to 
were quite inattentive to words uttered ex- 
pressly for their instruction or amusement. 
They showed by their whole manner that 
they were not listening, and for that 
particular occasion might as well have had 
no ears. Ordinary kindness requires that 
when one speaks to us politely and with a 
good intent we should listen to what he has 
to say. To listen will gratify his feelings ; 
not to listen will w^ound them, and perhaps 
debar you from some advantage which his 
words, if heard, would have brought to you. 
For this inattention is quite as apt to betray 
itself when the words spoken are full of 
wisdom as when they are commonplace. 

Especially should you lend your ear when 
God addresses you, either in his house or 
anywhere else, through the words of those 
whom he has appointed to speak in his name. 



98 INLETS AND OUTLETS. 

To be inattentive here is to insult God, as 
well as to wrong your own soul. As you would 
listen to the gladdest news ever brought to 
you, so should you listen to the voice of 
Jesus. 

I will suppose that you have wandered 
among the mountains and been lost, and 
heard during the night nothing but the 
howling of the wolves seeking their prey. 
When at length the morning breaks, famil- 
iar voices call your name, and in your fa- 
ther's arms you feel that the dangers of the 
night are past. You would not be thought- 
less in such an hour, and show that you 
cared not for your rescue. No ; your heart 
would be full of thankfulness, while you 
trembled at the very thought of your lone- 
liness and your fears when it seemed as if 
the night would never end. Jesus brings 
you more joyful tidings than that, because 
he tells you how you may be delivered from 
greater peril. Sin in the soul is worse than 
the howling of wolves, and there is no 



HEARING, 99 

loneliness so dreadful as that of being 
alone with sin. God says to you when he 
points to Jesus, " This is my beloved Son ; 
hear ye him." And Jesus says, after telling 
you how you may be saved from sin, " He 
that hath ears to hear, let him hear." Of 
what use are ears if they are not open to his 
voice of love ? 

Besides all this, I want to remind you that 
there is a universal language which all can 
understand. It is the same at all times and 
among every people. I mean weeping and 
laughter. The little boy who comes from a 
foreign land may not be able to ask for 
bread, so as to let you know what he wants ; 
but if you hear him weep you know that he 
wants something, and if you hear him laugh 
you know that he is free from sorrow. Your 
ears must be open to this language. They 
were made to listen to these sounds of glad- 
ness or grief quite as eagerly as to the most 
enchanting music or the welcome call to 
dinner. The ear must carry the tidings to 



100 INLETS AND OUTLETS. 

the soul, and let them vibrate there, so that 
you will rejoice with those who rejoice and 
weep with those who weep. 

If you use your ears aright, you may be 
able to turn tears into laughter now and 
then, and perhaps very often. How thjs 
was once done is told in the story of the 
Two Purses. 

The son of a poor woodman was one day 
weeping as he sat under a tree in the midst 
of a forest. A nobleman in a simple green 
dress, with a star embroidered on his breast, 
heard the sobs of the little boy, and went 
up to him, and said kindly and tenderly, 
^^ What are you crying for ?" 

" Oh !" said he, '' my mother has been 
very ill, and this morning my father sent me 
to town to pay the doctor, and I have lost the 
purse with the money in it with which I was 
to pay him." 

The nobleman turned, and spoke in a low 
tone to a gamekeeper who accompanied him, 
and who pulled out of his pocket a little 



HEARING. 101 

purse made of dark crimson silk, in which 
were several gold pieces. 

" Is this the purse you have lost ?" said 
the nobleman. 

"Oh no/' was the answer; "mine was 
not so beautiful as that, and it had no gold 
pieces in it." 

" Perhaps this is it, then ?" said the game- 
keeper, taking a little shabby purse out of 
his pocket. 

" Oh yes, that is it," said the boy, joy- 
fully. 

The gamekeeper then gave it to him ; and 
the nobleman said, " Take this purse too, be- 
sides your own, as a reward for your honesty 
and trust in God." 

Do you not suppose that this boy laughed 
all the way to town and all the way home 
again, and when he reached home made 
others laugh too ? How soon was his weep- 
ing turned into joy ! and all because the 
kind nobleman used his ears as God intended 
he should. 



102 INLETS AND OUTLETS, 

Have you no gold ? Never mind. You 
can coin as many golden words as you will, 
and these often turn sorrow into gladness 
too, and you can perform many golden 
deeds that will change tears into laughter 
and put rainbows into weeping eyes. 

Now let me say a few words about the 
ear as a sentinel on the lookout for danger. 

You know what I mean — in part, at least. 
The hiss of the serpent is not pleasant ; if 
it were, you would not be alarmed at it. 
The roar of the lion makes you tremble and 
run. You do not like to hear it, and it is 
well that you do not ; for if you did, you 
would not run, and the hungry beast would 
have you for his prey. Many sounds that 
are naturally disagreeable to the ear, like 
those I have mentioned, are sounds of warn- 
ing. So, among the lower animals, the weak 
are prompted to flee from the strong. The 
bark of the dog startles the deer, and the 
tread of the fowler drives the partridge to 
its hiding-place among the brushwood and 



HEARING, 103 

long grass. All this shows the love of the 
Being who has thus stationed the ear as a 
watchman upon the walls. 

But there are other sounds that should 
alarm you more than the rattle of the snake 
or the howl of the wolf. Human words tell 
you whether those who use them are dan- 
gerous or not. When you hear a boy use 
words that are profane, or words that are 
impure, or words that dishonor his parents, 
your ear should warn you to shun him as 
you would the prowling tiger. 

You must shut your ears too against 
honeyed words — words that flatter your 
pride or encourage your waywardness — 
words that sound pleasant to the ear because 
they profess to be friendly, but are really 
intended to lure you from the right path. 
The tempter often comes as an angel of 
light, and talks like an angel; with pro- 
fessions of good-will, when his secret pur- 
pose is to debase and destroy. He will sea- 
son his talk with falsehood and profanity, 



104 INLETS AND OUTLETS. 

and call it fun. He will tell you of little 
sins if you consent to listen, and will per- 
suade you that sin may be so insignificant 
or so playful as to be no sin at all. Beware, 
lest what you think a pleasant song turn out 
to be the music of the dirge that foretells 
your ruin. 

To hear, or not to hear ? That is the 
question which your own constant watchful- 
ness and God's helping wisdom alone can 
enable you to answer. 



TOUCH. 



And the eye cannot say unto the hand, I have no need of 
thee. — I, Cor. xii. 21. 




TOUCH. 

[^HE hand is usually spoken of as the 
organ of touch in its varied move- 
ments; it may be regarded both as 
an inlet and an outlet of the soul. 
When the finger is thrust into the fire, the 
sense of pain is conveyed to the mind, and 
when the finger is pulled quickly out of the 
fire, the inward dread is plainly revealed. 
Admiration, pleasure and fear are often 
expressed by the lifting of the hand. 

Strictly speaking, however, the sense of 
touch resides in every part of the body. 
You can feel with your elbow or your 
foot or your tongue. Whether a liquid is 
hot or cold, whether a substance is hard or 
soft, may be determined by putting it in 
the mouth. You tread upon the stone 
pavement, and you know it to be hard ; you 
step into the mud, and you know it to be 



107 



108 INLETS AND OUTLETS. 

soft ; while you are walking in a dark room 
your head strikes against the open door, 
and it does not require the hand to tell you 
that there is an obstruction in the way, 
for the head has already felt it. If a net- 
tle is rubbed against your face, you know it 
is prickly and sharp, though you may not 
have touched it with your finger. 

How is this? Why, the same arrange- 
ment of nerves that makes the finger so 
sensitive to pain is to be found also on the 
face and the tongue, and every other part 
of the surface of the body. The hand is 
regarded as the organ of touch, because at 
the ends of the fingers these nerves are 
more numerous than they are anywhere 
else. That is the reason why the fingers 
can tell more readily than the elbow or the 
chin whether one piece of cloth or velvet 
is finer and softer than another. 

I want to talk to you here about these 
nerves which create the sense of touch. 
You know already what they are. Or if 



TOUCH, 109 

you do not, then turn back and read what 
I have written before about them. 

There are two sets of these nerves, and I 
want to say more about this particular point 
than I have yet said. Those belonging to 
the one set are called nerves of sensation; 
those belonging to the other set are called 
nerves of motion. 

The first named are the nerves of touch, 
and they are called nerves of sensation 
because they carry sensations to the mind. 
Do you know what a sensation is ? Yes, 
but perhaps better by another name. Sen- 
sation is feeling. You touch a piece of ice, 
and you feel that it is cold, or a piece of 
wood, and you feel that it is hard. These 
are sensations. 

If I am sometimes compelled to use 
words that are not as plain to you as some 
other words, make them a study until you 
find out precisely what they mean and they 
become as familiar to you as the words bread 
and sleep and play. 



110 INLETS AND OUTLETS, 

What I have written thus far is simply 
this — that one set of the thread-like con- 
trivances called nerves produces feeling, 
tells you whether a substance is cold or hot, 
hard or soft. The other set produces mo- 
tion. The difference is just this. The 
nerves of sensation bring knowledge to the 
mind ; the nerves of motion put the com- 
mands of the mind in force. 

Let me make this a little plainer. If 
you run against a tree in a dark night, the 
nerves of sensation tell you the tree is there ; 
and if then you resolve to turn about and 
walk the other way, the nerves of motion 
enable you to do it. So that if you had the 
nerves of sensation only, you would be able 
to feel without being able to move ; and 
then, if your hand were in the fire, and you 
felt the pain, it would be impossible for you 
to take it out. Or if you had the nerves 
of motion only, you would be able to move 
without being able to feel, and then, if you 



TOUCH. Ill 

were asleep, the fire might destroy your life 
before you were aware of the danger. 

I need not tell you how all this is known. 
But certain it is ; and if you wish to learn 
more about it, you will find out, I am sure, 
either by reading or asking questions of 
some wise person. 

Certain it is, I say, that there are two sets 
of nerves distributed all over the body, the 
one set conveying knowledge to the mind of 
the properties of outside objects — whether 
they are smooth or rough, whether they are 
hard or soft — and the other set imparting 
power to the muscles, so that you can move 
the hand or the foot, or turn the head, or 
open and shut the mouth or eye, in obedience 
to the will. 

You see infinite wisdom and love in this 
arrangement. Whether the nerves of feel- 
ing send pain or pleasure to the mind, the 
wisdom and love are the same ; for pain is 
the intimation of danger — it is the cry of the 
sentinel warning you to flee. 



112 INLETS AND OUTLETS. 

Let US now look at the hand as the most 
useful and busy organ of touch. 

When we consider the various movements 
of the fingers, it is very plain that the eye 
cannot say to the hand, " I have no need of 
thee." The eye looks upon the beautiful 
peach, but it is the business of the hand to 
carry it to the mouth. The eye admires the 
flower, but the hand plucks it. The eye is 
delighted with the picture or the statue of 
the skillful artist, but it is the hand that 
uses the brush and guides the chisel. The 
eye beholds long rows of buildings with 
elegant fabrics for sale in the windows, and 
clocks of curious workmanship, and toys for 
the amusement of children, but all these 
things are made by the hand. Now and 
then we see persons without hands who can 
use knife and fork, and even write, with the 
toes, but it is a sad sight at best, and makes 
us understand how great has been their 
loss. 

The eyes would convey many false im- 




The Blind Chinese Girl Reading. 



TOUCH, 115 

pressions to the mind were it not for the 
hands. The hands help the eye in deter- 
mining the shape and qualities of objects. 
If you were to see an india-rubber ball for 
the first time, you would have to touch it be- 
fore you could tell whether it was pliable, or 
whether it was hard as ebony and solid as a 
cannon-ball. 

What would become of the music of the 
organ and violin and flute were it not for 
the hand ? — the hand to make the instru- 
ments, and the hand to play upon them ? 

I have told you how much the blind are 
assisted by the ear ; and this is the place to 
tell you that they are also very greatly 
assisted by the touch. In making baskets, 
and brooms, and brushes, and bead-work, 
they depend upon the touch altogether. So 
they do also in reading and writing. Books 
are made for the blind with the letters 
stamped on the paper, so that they rise above 
the surface. When the blind read, they run 
their fingers over these raised letters, and 



116 INLETS AND OUTLETS. 

thus perceive their shape and form them 
into words. 

A little girl in China whose name was 
Fokien was stolen by a beggar-man, who 
put her eyes out and sent her out to beg. 
She had to bring to him what she got by 
begging. A kind lady saw her and took her 
to a missionary, Mrs. Gutzlaflf. This good 
woman cared for the little blind girl as if 
she had been her own child, and the little 
thing became a merry, happy girl. Not 
only so, but she learned to read — to read 
with her fingers. She read the Bible thus, 
by touch, and became a truly Christian child, 
so that her blindness became to her a source 
of blessing. 

So acute does the touch become by long 
practice that I have seen a young girl trace 
the forms of the letters when two, and even 
three, handkerchiefs were laid upon them. 
The blind use the touch also in walking, 
reaching out their arms to discover any ob- 
jects that may be in their way. 



TOUCH. Ill 

There have been persons who could neither 
see nor hear, and who had to depend upon 
the touch for nearly all their knowledge of 
things about them. 

James Mitchell, born among the highlands 
of Scotland, could not look upon the noble 
hills that surrounded the beautiful valley in 
which his parents lived, neither could he 
hear others talk nor talk to them, for he 
was blind and deaf and dumb. All his 
wants and feelings were signified by the 
touch. When he wished for food, he would 
approach his mother or sister, touch her in 
an expressive manner, put his hand to his 
mouth, and point to the apartment or cup- 
board in which eatables were usually kept. 
When he w^anted to go to bed, he used to in- 
cline his head sideways, as if to lay it on a 
pillow. He indicated riding on horseback 
by raising his foot and bringing the fingers 
of each hand together under the sole in im- 
itation of a stirrupi He would describe a 
shoemaker by imitating with his arms the 



118 INLETS AND OUTLETS. 

motions used by a shoemaker in pulling out 
the thread. 

By the touch his sister intimated to him 
her pleasure or displeasure. To express her 
highest approbation, she patted him much 
and cordially on the head, back and hand. 
When she patted him slightly, it implied 
simple assent, and she had only to refuse 
him these marks of approbation entirely, 
and repel him gently^ to tell him of her dis- 
pleasure. When his mother was from home, 
and his sister wanted to pacify him, she 
woiild lay his head gently down uj)on a 
pillow, once for each night of his mother's 
intended absence, and he understood that 
hie must sli^ep so many times before her re- 
turn* 

Male visitors were the most frequent in 
the remote part of the country where he re- 
sided ; and when a stranger arrived, he 
found out by the touch whether the visitor 
wore riding-boots. If so, he went to the stable 
and handled his horse with great care, as if to 



, TOUCH, 119 

determine its size and form. If visitors came 
in a carriage, he never failed to go where the 
carriage stood, and to examine it with the 
utmost attention. 

One day he met a person riding upon a 
horse which had been purchased from his 
mother a few weeks before. On feeling the 
animal he seemed instantly to recognize it. 
The rider dismounted to see how the lad 
would conduct himself, and was much 
amused to find that he led the horse to his 
mother's stable, took off the saddle and 
bridle, put corn before him, and then with- 
drew, locking the door and putting the key 
in his pocket. 

Much indeed was lost to this poor boy — all 
beautiful sights and all pleasant sounds. He 
never saw a human face or heard a human 
voice. The world was to him as if it had 
been a dark cave into which the daylight and 
sound never came. He could form no idea 
of speech or color. But then what a bless- 
ing it was that touch remained, and that it 



120 INLETS AND OUTLETS. 

was SO useful to him ! It taught him that he 
was not alone in the world, dark and silent 
though it was ; it taught him too that there 
were living things, like horses, and things 
without life, like carriages, and human be- 
ings who loved him and eared for him, and 
whom he loved. 

There are not many examples like this, 
but among the few that are on record there 
is one still more remarkable. 

Laura Bridgman could neither hear, see 
nor smell. Of beautiful sights and sweet 
sounds and pleasant odors she had no con- 
ception. Nevertheless, she seemed as happy 
and playful as a bird or a lamb. She was 
fond of fun and frolic; and when playing 
with other children, her shrill laugh sounded 
loudest of the group. 

When left alone, she would knit and sew 
and busy herself for hours. She counted 
with her fingers, and spelt out names of 
things which she had recently learned. If 
she spelt a word wrong with the fingers of 



TOUCH, 121 

her right hand, she would instantly strike 
it with her left, as her teacher did, in sign 
of disapprobation ; if right, then she pat- 
ted herself on the head and looked pleased. 
She would sometimes purposely spell a word 
wrong with her left hand, look roguish 
for a moment and laugh, and then with the 
right hand strike the left, as if to correct it. 

When walking through a passage-way 
with her hands spread before her, she knew 
instantly every one she met. If it were a 
girl of her own age, and one of her favor- 
ites, she would grasp her hands and twine 
her arms around her, and there were kiss- 
ings and partings just as between little chil- 
dren with all their senses. 

While two of her schoolmates named 
Baker were on a visit to their friends, she 
sent them a bag which she had worked, 
together with the following letter : 

'' Laura is well. Laura will give Baker 
bag. Man will carry bag to Baker. Laura 
will cry. Baker will come to see Laura. 



122 INLETS AND OUTLETS, 

Drew(another schoolmate) is well. Drew give 
love to Baker. Laura Brtdgman." 

As already mentioned, she had a peculiar 
fondness for innocent fun. Her teacher, 
looking one day into the girls' schoolroom, 
saw three blind girls playing with the 
rocking-horse. Laura was on the crupper, 
another on the saddle and a third was 
clinging to the neck, and they were all in 
high glee, swinging backward and for- 
ward as far as the rocking-horse would roll. 
There was a peculiarly arch look in Laura's 
countenance. She seemed prepared to give 
a springs and suddenly, when her end was 
lowest and the others were perched high in 
the air, she sidled quickly off on the floor, 
and down went the other end, and so 
swiftly as to throw the other girls off the 
horse. Laura stood for a moment convulsed 
with laughter, and then ran eagerly forward 
with outstretched arms to find the girls, and 
almost screamed with joy. As soon, how- 
ever, as she got hold of one of them, she 



TOUCH, 123 

perceived that she was hurt, and instantly 
her countenance changed. She seemed 
shocked and grieved ; and after caressing 
and comforting her playmate, she expressed 
her sorrow by spelling the word '' wrong " 
with her fingers and by loading her with 
caresses. 

To her the fingers were eyes and ears as 
well as fingers. Like the feelers of some 
insects, which are continually agitated and 
which touch every grain of sand in the path, 
so Laura's arms and hands were continually 
in play. In this way she generally knew 
what any one near her ^Yas doing. A person 
walking across the room while she had hold 
of his left arm w^ould have found it hard to 
take a pencil out of his waistcoat pocket 
with his right hand w-ithout her knowing 
what he was doing. 

She understood distances so accurately 
that she would rise from her seat, go straight 
toward a door, put out her hand just at the 
right time and grasp the handle with the 



124 INLETS AND OUTLETS. 

utmost precision. When she ran against a 
door that was shut, but which she expected 
to find open, she did not fret, but only rub- 
bed her head and laughed. 

The constant and untiring exercise of her 
^' feelers " gave her a very accurate know- 
ledge of everything about the house ; so that 
if a new article — a bundle, a band-box or 
even a new book — were laid anywhere in 
the apartments which she frequented, it was 
but a short time before, in her ceaseless 
rounds, she found it, and from something 
about it she would generally discover to 
whom it belonged. At table, if told to be 
still, she conducted herself with the utmost 
propriety, and handled her cup, spoon and 
fork like other children. But when at liberty 
to do as she chose, she was continually feel- 
ing things and ascertaining their size and 
shape, asking their names and uses, and 
thus going on step by step in the path of 
knowledge. 

When Laura had been eighteen months 



TOUCH, 125 

in the institution, she was, for the first time, 
visited by her mother. 

The mother stood some time gazing with 
overflowing eyes upon her unfortunate child, 
who, all unconscious of her presence, was 
playing about the room. Presently, Laura 
ran against her, and at once began feeling 
her hands, examining her dress and trying 
to find out if she knew her; but not suc- 
ceeding in this, she turned away as from a 
stranger. Her mother then gave her a string 
of beads which she used to wear at home. 
These were recognized by the child at once, 
who with much joy put them around her 
neck. 

The mother now tried to caress her, but 
poor Laura repelled all her kindness, pre- 
ferring to be with her acquaintances. 

Another article from home was then given 
her, and she began to look much interested. 
She even endured her mother's caresses, but 
would leave her with indiflFerence at the 
slightest signal. 



126 INLETS AND OUTLETS. 

After a while, when her mother took hold 
of her again, a vague idea seemed to flit 
across Laura's mind that this could not be a 
stranger. She therefore felt her mother's 
hands very eagerly, and became first very 
pale and then suddenly red, as if hope and 
doubt were struggling within. At this 
moment the mother drew her closer to her 
side and kissed her fondly, when at once 
the truth flashed upon the child, and all 
mistrust and anxiety disappeared from her 
face as with an expression of exceeding joy 
she eagerly clung to her mother, and yielded 
gladly to her fond embraces. 

This wonderful story tells you how much 
knowledge and pleasure can come to the mind 
through the touchy for to this alone was 
Laura Bridgman indebted for all the im- 
pressions that have been mentioned. I do 
not know that her taste was impaired ; but 
three of her senses were utterly lost, and 
^' touch " alone enabled her to do and learn 
all I have related. 



TOUCH. 127 

I might tell you many things of those less 
unfortunate who, with the hearing unim- 
paired, but with the loss of sight, have by 
means of the touch made themselves not 
only useful, but eminent. 

Giovanni Gonelli, an Italian sculptor, was 
blind. One of his patrons, who doubted 
whether his blindness was complete, caused 
the artist to model his head in a dark cellar. 
This he did, and then cut it in marble, and 
it proved an excellent likeness. 

James Strong, of Carlisle, England, was 
blind from birth, and not only became a 
good performer on the organ, but at the age 
of twenty was able to make almost every 
article of wearing apparel he required. 
His household furniture was, with few excep- 
tions, all of his own manufacture. Besides 
this, he constructed various pieces of machi- 
nery, and among the rest a model of a loom, 
with a figure of a man working on it. He 
was himself by trade a weaver, and was ac- 
counted a very good workman. 



128 INLETS AND OUTLETS. 

Mr. Sanderson, who lost his sight when 
two years old, and who became professor of 
mathematics at Cambridge, could distinguish 
by the touch genuine medals from imita- 
tions more accurately than many good 
judges who had the use of their eyes. 

But remember that the touch is not only 
useful to those who have lost one or more of 
the other senses ; it is also the servant of all 
the others. The hand, which is the princi- 
pal organ of touch, not only creates those 
instruments by means of which distant ob- 
jects are brought near and minute objects 
are greatly enlarged ; it also lifts the tel- 
escope and the microscope to the eye. It 
holds the watch to the ear that its ticking 
may be distinctly heard, and by its touch of 
the instrument gladdens the ear with sweet 
music. It serves the sense of taste by bring- 
ing to it savory food, and it helps and grati- 
fies the sense of smell by bringing sweet 
odors near. 

Little indeed could the other senses do 



TOUCH. 129 

without it. There is not one of them that 
tells so plainly what is going on in the souL 
Busy hands are the doors through which 
industry walks out and cheers the world 
with its presence. Hands that chisel beau- 
tiful forms out of the shapeless marble are 
the windows from which genius looks. 
Theft in the heart is very apt to show itself 
at the ends of the fingers. Hatred, vari^ 
ance and strife are seen in the- clenched 
fist. Charity makes itself known through 
the helping hand. 

One has said : " The hand gives expres- 
sion to the genius and the wit, the courage 
and the affection, the will and the power, of 
man. Put a sword into it, and it will fight 
for him ; put a plough into it, and it will 
till for him; put a harp into it, and it will 
play for him ; put a pencil into it, and it 
will paint for him ; put a pen into it, and 
it will speak for him. What will it not do? 
What has it not done ? A steam-engine is 
but a larger hand made to extend the pow- 



130 INLETS AND OUTLETS, 

ers of the little hand of man. An electric 
telegraph i? but a long pen for that little 
hand to write with." 

You see, then, that the hand may be an in- 
strument for good or an instrument for evil. 

How shall I use my hands? is a question 
you should ask yourself each day in the 
love and fear of God. Let me suppose that 
you are asking it now, and you want me to 
give you the answer. 

I open the Bible and read, " Whatsoever 
thy hand findeth to do, do it with thy 
might." Now, there are several things to 
be noticed here. The first is that the hand 
ought to be doing something. It was made 
for this purpose — not to be idle, not to be 
busy now and then, but to be at all times 
the most active member of the body. 

The next thing to be noticed is that it 
must do nothing of which God does not 
approve. The Being who made the hand, 
and who says it must be kept busy, made it 
to serve himself and to act according to his 



TOUCH, 131 

will. It is therefore to be guided in all that 
it does by his Spirit dwelling in the soul. 
Thus will it always be the minister of love. 

Then the third thing to be noticed is 
that whatever is done must be done earn- 
estly, with all your might. You must era- 
ploy the hands in useful labor with as keen 
a relish as in playing ball. If nothing else 
were gained by this earnestness, it would 
make you skillful and expert in profitable 
occupations, which is a great deal in itself. 
It is said that Thalberg, the eminent pianist, 
who could imitate by means of his wonder- 
ful touch the sweetest bird-notes and the 
trickling of water as it falls from moss-cov- 
ered rocks, was accustomed to practice five 
hours a day when at the very height of his 
fame. 

The female silk-twisters of Bengal are 
said to be able to distinguish by the touch 
alone twenty different degrees of fineness in 
the silk of unwound cocoons, which are 
sorted accordingly ; and the Indian muslin- 



132 INLETS AND OUTLETS. 

weaver contrives, by tlie delicacy of his 
touch, to make the finest cambric in a loom 
of such simple construction that European 
fingers could make nothing better than a 
piece of canvas on it. These people make 
the most of their fingers — cultivate the sense 
of touch to the very highest degree. What 
their hands find to do they do with their 
might. 

Still more striking examples are related 
of the extent to which the sense of touch 
may be improved by diligent use. Mr. 
Baker, in his " Essay on the Microscope,'^ 
says : " I myself have seen very lately, and 
have examined with the microscope, a chaise 
made by a watchmaker, having four wheels, 
with all the proper apparatus belonging to 
them, turning readily on their axles, together 
with a man sitting in the chaise, all formed 
of ivory, and drawn along by a flea without 
any seeming difficulty. I saw also at the same 
time and place a brass chain, made by the 
same hand, about two inches long, contain- 



TOUCH. 133 

ing two hundred links, with a hook at one 
end and a padlock and key at the other." 

These instances of skill in the use of the 
fingers are not only curious — they are also 
instructive; and the lesson they teach is 
this: Make the most of every faculty 
God has given you. 

So much for the ordinary pursuits of life* 
— the trade or profession you may choose for 
yourself. 

But remember here that even in a trade 
or profession skill may be wrongly directed. 
The hands that are building a temple in 
which God is to be worshiped are very 
differently employed from the hands that are 
decorating a place of sinful amusement. 
The pen may write truth or it may write 
error. 

One day I stopped for a few moments in 
front of a newspaper-stand while waiting 
for a street-car, and began talking with the 
boy who, in the absence of the proprietor, 
had charge of it. In the course of conver- 



134 INLETS AND OUTLETS, 

sation I learned that this boy went to school, 
and was thirteen years and nine months old. 
Directing his attention to some caricatures 
of men distinguished for their talent and 
the ofl&cial positions they occupied, I asked 
him what he thought of them. 

" Well," said he, " they are amusing, but 
' I do not like them altogether." Then, point- 
ing to one of the figures, he added, " Just 
look at that head; it looks more like the 
head of a monkey than the head of a man. 
That is meddling with God's work." 

Was the boy right in thinking that the 
pencil ought to tell the truth as well as the 
tongue, and that the artist was guilty of a 
wrong in exhibiting features that could not 
be mistaken, and which yet were hardly hu- 
man, or, if human, displayed traits of low 
and savage cunning which the individual was 
known not to possess ? 

Let love and truth guide your hands ; then 
they will not do intentional wrong. Love 
and truth ! precious words are these, for 



TOUCH, 135 

God is Love and Christ is Truth ; and when 
these words are written on the heart, the 
hands will be busy, like God's infinite hand, 
and like the hand that was nailed to the 
cross, in doing what truth and love require. 
So may it be with your hands ! 

Temptation is often strong. Little Nelly 
was only five years old, yet her trial was as 
severe as if she had been fifty, and you may 
learn just as much from it. Her mother 
had taken great pains to instill into her 
mind the knowledge of right. One day 
she stood at the door of the dining-room, 
looking with great earnestness at a basket 
of fine peaches that stood on the table. 
Nelly knew she ought not to touch them 
without leave, yet there was a struggle be- 
tween desire and conscience that would have 
ended in her doing the very thing she knew 
to be wrong had she not fled from herself. 
Soon her mother, who was watching her 
from an adjoining room, saw her bow her 
head and cover her face with her hands. 



136 INLETS AND OUTLETS. 

" What ails you, Nelly ?" inquired the 
mother. 

" Oh, mother," she exclaimed, '' I wanted 
so much to take one of the peaches, but I 
thought I would first ask God if he had 
any objection." 

That is just the conflict that takes place 
frequently in the soul when God says, 
" Touch not." But it does not always end 
as well — it never does when God is not con- 
sulted in the matter. The command of 
God is, " Touch not what is not your own. 
Touch not what will enslave both body and 
soul." But the command is unheeded, and 
the forbidden peach is taken from the 
basket or the tree, and then the penny from 
the drawer, and then a dollar, and then a 
thousand. The strong drink kindles the 
fire of quenchless appetite, and soul and 
body go down together. 

Remember the peril of the first unlawful 
touch, and what unhappiness it must bring 
even if repented of. 



TOUCH. 137 

Jennie was playing in the dining-room 
all alone, and did not keep her eyes from a 
plate of cake that stood on the sideboard, 
but kept looking and wishing. At last she 
ventured to touch it, and then a little piece 
was in her mouth and eaten in a moment. 
But it did not taste half so good as she 
thought it would, for she could not help 
thinking all the time of the wrong she was 
doing. 

Then she went to her play again. But 
she could not play, for she knew the eyes 
of God were upon her, and she heard the 
reproofs of her own conscience, which she 
knew to be the voice of God. All the rea- 
soning by which she endeavored to persuade 
herself that she had done only a trifling 
wrong was of no avail. Her conscience 
told her that she had committed many sins 
at once : she had coveted, she had stolen, she 
had betrayed the confidence of her mother, 
she had offended God. Then she wept, and 
ran to her mother and confessed her fault. 



138 INLETS AND OUTLETS. 

All this alarm and grief, all these bitter 
tears, came from the one forbidden touch. 

Much wiser was the conduct of the bov 
who had been charged by his mother, on her 
leaving home for the day, not to go out of 
the yard until her return. 

'' You can amuse yourself here," she 
said, ^' and watch the house ; and I hope 
you'll have a good time." 

All went on very well until afternoon, 
when the tempter came in the shape of 
another boy, who came to ask him to go a 
nutting. The one said he could not, and the 
other urged compliance, and spoke of the 
black-eyed squirrels that were running 
about in the woods, and of the brown chest- 
nuts dropping fast on the ground. Mean- 
while, the steps of both had brought them 
near to the gate. The gate was opened, the 
tempter went outside, and taking hold of the 
half-yielding hand^ said, 

" Come, one step more and the thing is 
done; and then only a little run, and we 



TOUCH, 139 

can have a good time ; and where will be the 
harm ?" 

That last word was the talisman that broke 
the spell. 

" No, no/^ said the tempted boy as he 
started back ; '' I won't take the first wrong 
step, for who knows all the terrible steps 
it might bring me to ?" 

So he ran back into the house and up 
into his little room, hardly waiting to close 
gate or door, and knelt down to thank Him 
by whom he had been kept from taking the 
first wrong step. 

There is a magic in the touch of love that 
is wonderful indeed — more wonderful than all 
the cunning workmanship of skillful fingers. 
It changes frowns into smiles and hate into 
gentleness. A kiss for a blow has made the 
uplifted hand fall in shame and quenched 
the passion betrayed by it. " If one strike 
thee on the one cheek, turn to him the other 
also," was the counsel of Him who touched 
the eyes of the blind to open them, and the 



140 INLETS AND OUTLETS. 

ears of the deaf to unstop them, and who 
laid his hands upon little children to bless 
them. 

The meaning of the Saviour's words in 
which he inculcated forbearance under in- 
juries was beautifully illustrated in one of 
the public schools of Boston. The incident 
occurred in the primary department, in which 
the scholars were between four and eight 
years old. It was on the day when the 
children were allowed to ask any question. 

" Please tell us/' said a little boy, " what is 
meant by overcoming evil with goodr 

Just then a boy about seven who in some 
way had become provoked at his sister, who 
was two years younger than himself, doubled 
up his fist and struck her. She was angry in a 
moment, and raised her hand to strike him 
back. The teacher, who saw the uplifted 
hand, said quickly, 

" Mary, you had better kiss your brother." 

After a brief hesitancy and a look that 
showed the inward struggle, the child's re- 



TOUCH. 141 

sentment was gone, and love took its place. 
She threw her arms about her brother's neck 
and pressed his lips with hers. The poor 
boy was utterly unprepared for such a kind 
return. He could not endure it. It broke 
his heart, and he burst out crying. Then 
the gentle sister took the corner of her 
apron and wiped away his tears and tried to 
comfort him, but he only cried the more. 
There were others who cried too. Nor did 
the school need any other answer to the ques- 
tion : '' What is meant by overcoming evil 
with good ?" 

One hand guided by love is better than 
two hands intent upon evil. This was the 
conclusion to which a mother and her 
daughter came as they stood at the window 
and saw a young girl pass who had but one 
hand with which to do the work of two. 
She was poor, as the world calls it, but 
there was a gleam in her eye and a smile 
around her lips to which wealth and the 
possession of another hand could hardly 



142 INLETS AND OUTLETS, 

have added. To the one who stood at the 
window it was a surprise that one so de- 
pendent should at the same time be so glad 
— that with poverty and the loss of a hand 
there should be such full contentment and 
such unclouded joy. When she expressed 
this surprise to her mother, the secret of all 
this happiness was thus accounted for : 

" Ruth's heart is filled with the love of 
God. She tries to please him and to do 
good to all. With Christ's love in her heart 
she is not poor, but rich, and has a kind of 
wealth that no one can steal from her. It 
seems a sad thing to have but one hand, but 
do you not think that it is better to have one 
hand and use it right than to have two 
and use them wrong ?" 

Just then two boys were seen fighting, and 
the one threw the other on the ground with 
great violence. The sensitive, sympathizing 
girl at the window witnessed the scene, and 
turning to her mother, said, " Oh yes ; I 
woukl choose to be Ruth, and have but one 



TOUCH, 143 

hand, if I could not use my two hands in a 
right way." 

One thought I must not forget. You need 
a helping hand, one stronger than your own, 
or your case will be desperate where tempta- 
tions are so many and so strong. If there 
were no nerves of motion, you know, the fin- 
ger could not obey the will. But then there 
is a power needed above your own to set the 
will right. Without this stronger helping 
hand, there will only be weakness and fail- 
ure and sin. 

When Colonel Carpenter was shot in the 
arm, and felt his strength fast going, he pre- 
pared to run across several rods of ground 
swept by a cross fire from the enemy and in 
the centre literally heaped up with the slain. 
'' You will never try to cross there ?" said his 
comrades. " Yes," he replied ; ^^if I can but 
p-et behind the breastworks on the other side, 
my wound can be dressed and I shall live. 
Here I shall certainly die." Then began a 
race for life. The bullets flew and the shells 



144 INLETS AND OUTLETS. 

shrieked about him. On he ran. He gained 
the breastworks, and leaped with all his 
failing might. Vainly. Back he fell upon 
the bloody soil. And now a perfect storm 
of balls was poured upon him, but not one hit 
him. Mustering all his remaining strength, 
he rose, stepped back a little, and dashing 
forward blindly, leaped once more. It was 
his last effort to secure his own life, and it 
was in vain. Back again he fell, groaning, 
despairing. It was over. He must die, he 
thought. Just then a sand-bag moved, a 
hand was extended from behind it, and a 
voice said, " Carpenter, reach me your hand." 
The despairing man faintly stretched out his 
well arm, so that the hand of help could 
reach it, and in a moment more he was in 
safety and among friends. His life was 
saved. 

When Christ's hand is upon yours, it will 
be strong and steady, and will play its part 
well. What other hand can mend the 
broken strings and put the soul in tune 



TOUCH. 145 

agaiiij so that all its tempers will be in har- 
mony with truth and love? ^^If I may but 
touch the hem of his garment, I shall be 
made whole," said the poor woman whose 
hands were so weak that they were of no 
use to her or to anybody else. And so it 
was Jesus turned, and said, " Thy faith 
hath made thee whole," and from that mo- 
ment her hands were strong again, and she 
could do a good day's work. 

The touch of faith — what will it do for 
you ? Why, it will bring to your aid 
Christ's wisdom and power and love, so 
that your hands will be guided by divine 
skill, and will be helping hands to others 
who are struggling to be free and are try- 
ing to do right. 

10 



TASTE. 



Doth not the mouth taste his meat ? — Job xii. II. 



TASTE. 

HE tongue is generally regarded as 

fthe organ of taste, though there are 
other parts of the mouth that help 
^^ produce those sensations which are 
called sweet, sour, bitter, salt, and so on. 
Food is said to be ^'palatable " or otherwise, 
because the palate is supposed to aid us in 
determining whether what we eat is pleasant 
to the taste or not. These sensations reach 
the mind through fine thread-like nerves, 
such as have been already referred to in 
connection with sight, hearing and touch. 

How this peculiar power is exercised by 
these " tasters " it is impossible for any one 
to explain to you, or why certain nerves 
should produce one impression and certain 
other nerves quite another. One set of 
these white cords enables us to distinguish 
the peculiar flavor of each kind of food, so 



149 



150 INLETS AND OUTLETS. 

that even in the dark we should not mistake 
the strawberry for the peach, nor the apple 
for the plum. Another set of these cords. 




Tasters of the Tongue. 
You have here a magnified picture of the tasters of the 
tongue, showing the nerves of taste and the blood-vessels that 
feed them. These tasters project a little above the surface of 
the tongue, giving it a soft velvety appearance. 

as you have learned, conveys the impression 
of sound ; another set transfers to the mind 
the pictures of the outside world painted in 
the eye, and still another makes you con- 
scious of the forms and qualities of external 
objects — whether they are round or flat, 
smooth or rough, hard or soft. 

How great must be the wisdom of God 



TASTE. 151 

that thus imparts to the nerves, so similar 
in appearance and structure, these various 
ofl&ces. It is the way of this divine wisdom 
to accomplish much by means that are sim- 
ple and few. 

The object of taste is the proper selection 
of food. The taste reveals to us many of 
those properties of the things we' eat which 
are essential to health. Salt, for example, is 
a very important article of diet for man, as 
it is also for the horse and the sheep ; and 
there is a natural craving for it, as you may 
know from the fact that if you attempt to 
eat some kinds of food without it they are 
very repulsive. If you want to catch a horse 
who is running in the pasture, and who is 
too full of frolic to submit willingly to the 
halter, all you have to do is to put some salt 
upon your hand and let him see it; and if he 
ventures near enough to touch it with his 
tongue, you may take your own time in 
putting the bridle over his head. Now, were 
it not for the taste, and did your selection 



152 INLETS AND OUTLETS. 

depend upon sight or touch, you might mis- 
take something else for salt. And though 
your feelings after a while would inform you 
of your error, yet there might be serious 
discomfort, and even danger, in repeating it 
again and again. 

I remember an incident that illustrates 
how easy it is for the eye to blunder, at times, 
when it ventures to determine a question 
that belongs to one of the other senses. The 
incident occurred at a Sunday-school pic-nic, 
where happy families were gathered in 
groups to partake of the good things they' 
had brought with them. A friend of mine 
invited me and others to join his circle; and 
there was no need of his urging our com- 
pliance, for the coffee was steaming over the 
fire, and there was a large dish of straw- 
berries that had been carefully washed at a 
neighboring spring and were all ready for 
distribution. A happy circle we were as we 
sat on the grass around the tempting viands. 
The strawberries were handed round, the 



TASTE. 153 

largest and most luscious the market afforded 
—not in stinted measure, for the plates were 
heaped up until they could hold no more. 
The eager fingers of each one of the com- 
pany grasped the offered spoon, and each 
spoon in another moment went loaded with 
berries to the mouth, when — what think 
you ? Why, the berries had been salted in- 
stead of being sugared. Again were they 
taken to the cold, gushing spring, and washed 
more carefully than before. But the salt had 
gone to the very heart of each particular 
berry, where no water could reach it. Had 
the good man who prepared this generous 
feast for us only tasted the salt instead of 
trusting his eyes, the mistake would not have 
occurred. But the resemblance between salt 
and sugar in touch and look was so great 
that he was easily deceived. 

Besides the selection of food, another ob- 
ject of taste undoubtedly is to impart addi- 
tional pleasure to the act of eating. And 
here we see the goodness of God most plainly 



154 INLETS AND OUTLETS, 

again. All the articles of food that are most 
essential, and on which the preservation of 
life and a healthy condition of the body de- 
pend, are what are called palatable — that is, 
convey a pleasant sensation through the pal- 
ate or organs of taste. 

Without doubt, God might have made the 
bread and the fruits we eat without that 
peculiar relish which makes them so agree- 
able the moment we put them in the mouth, 
and might have enabled us in some other 
way to distinguish one substance from 
another ; so that the juice of the pear and 
the flavor of the cherry would not delight 
us as they do now. Or he might have im- 
parted a less degree of relish to each, and 
made the difference less. Now, when the 
strawberries come in early summer, we think 
we never tasted anything so pleasant. When 
the taste for these is somewhat blunted, 
if that is possible, the raspberries come with 
their own peculiar flavor, so different and 
yet so attractive. Then comes the blackberry, 



TASTE, 155 

very different from each, and the currant 
with its charming acidity, which many a 
child has pressed with his tongue until the 
roof of his mouth was sore, and then the 
peach, with sugar and cream if you choose, 
in whose praise I need say nothing ; and so 
on through the whole list until the apples 
are gathered and put away for winter's use. 

I have not spoken of the grape and the 
fig, the melon and the pomegranate. These 
are among the first fruits of which we find 
any particular notice in history. One of 
the most cheering promises to God's chosen 
people before they went into Canaan was 
that they were to take possession of a land 
flowing with milk and honey ; and when 
they thought of these articles of food, we 
may suppose that they thought of them 
not only as essential to life, but also as 
pleasant to the taste. When the spies were 
sent by Moses to bring a report of the 
country which was one day to be theirs, the 
men brought bunches of grapes into the 



156 INLETS AND OUTLETS. 

camp so large and heavy that they had to 
carry them on a pole — a beautiful sight in- 
deed, but more delightful even to the taste 
than to the eye. 

Then there are different flavors even 
among fruits of the same kind. All apples, 
all pears, all cherries, do not taste alike. 
Of graj)es there are no less than fifteen 
hundred varieties described, and all these 
vary more or less in flavor. Thus does the 
kindness of our heavenly Father afford us, 
through this one sense, constantly diversi- 
fied gratification. 

It would make a long list if I were to 
mention all the principal fruits that are 
cultivated as articles of food. The list 
would include the banana and the date, and 
all the fruits that grow in the different 
countries of the world, and would require 
me to write more than seventy words even 
to name them, and then I would leave out 
of the account many that grow wild and 
are less thought of, together with all the 



TASTE. 157 

various kinds of nuts. All these are dis- 
tinguished from each other by the impres- 
sion they make upon the sense of taste — 
each brings to the mind, through this sense, 
a somewhat and often a widely different 
pleasure. 

Then I want you to think of the many 
forms in which these articles of food are 
presented, so that the eye and the touch are 
gratified as well as the taste, and I want you 
to think of the many interesting circum- 
stances connected with their production, 
such as the planting of the seed and its 
growth into a stalk or bush or tree, with 
their differently shaped leaves, and the blos- 
soms that often cover the branches, as in 
the case of the apple, the cherry and the 
peach. All this adds to our conception of 
the divine love; for it would have been 
possible for God, even in varying the flavor 
of the different kinds of fruit, to have 
created them alike in shape and to have 
made them grow without any show of bios- 



158 INLETS AND OUTLETS, 

soms, and on trees or vines whose leaves 
would have been formed very much alike. 
Now, look at the corn, with its long, large, 
pointed leaves, and the tassel that gracefully 
crowns each stalk, and then look at the 
wheat, with its hard, strong, hollow stem, 
bearing upon its top the hundred kernels 
that have grown from one, and then at a 
field of buckwheat when it is a thickly 
covered flower-bed, filling the air with the 
smell of the honey that the bees gather 
from it. 

There was no need of all this variety that 
so delights the eye before it reaches the 
taste, except so far as God's love required 
it. His power might have ordered it other- 
wise. 

And whilst I am talking about this, let us 
look at salt a little more closely, and it will 
help you to see how wonderful are the ar- 
rangements that serve the sense of taste. 

Salt does not grow like the orange or the 
almond. I hold in my hand a description 



TASTE, 159 

of this substance, and of the manner of 
obtaining it, which some one has written in 
reply to a boy's question, and which I will 
read to you, in part at least, because the 
answer will be quite as interesting and in- 
structive to you as it was to him. 

George went to pasture to carry a bucket 
of salt for the cattle. " How queer," said 
George, " that nothing can live without salt ! 
What is salt ?" " Why, salt is salt, to be 
sure," said the hired man. That is so. 
But the answer did not quite satisfy George. 

There is a metal called sodium, which 
looks like silvery globes, and is a sort of 
cousin to gold and silver. If these little 
globes in their way over the world meet and 
are breathed upon by a yellowish-green va- 
por called chlorine, they vanish in an in- 
stant, and in the place of sodium and 
chlorine there is a grain of salt. It is a happy 
thing in nature that these two do come to- 
gether very often, otherwise we should have 
no salt. 



160 INLETS AND OUTLETS. 

It is found everywhere. Besides the great 
oceans, there are salt lakes, and salt springs, 
and salt mountains, and salt fields. England 
has a salt field eighty miles long, Spain has a 
great mountain of salt, and Poland has some 
wonderful mines where you are let down a 
pit — down, down — and come to workshops 
where hundreds of men are hewing out 
blocks of pure white salt, which shine and 
sparkle in the lamplight like diamonds. 

Salt springs are very common. Virginia 
and New York have enough to supply the 
whole country ; and in case these should 
fail, there is old ocean. 

If water gives us salt, so also does fi^re. 
After an eruption, the cracks and crevices 
of Mount Vesuvius are often covered with a 
thick coat of salt. Huge blocks of it were 
once taken from very near its burning 
mouth. The poor people of Iceland, too, 
often carry whole wagon-loads of salt from 
Mount Hecla. 

There are plants also which could yield 



TASTE. 161 

a small supply. By the sea-shore grows a 
gray, prickly plant called saltwort. Our soda 
comes from the ashes of this very plant. Do 
you know the curious and pretty ice-plant ? 
It sometimes grows in gardens — oftener in 
green-houses. This is a great treasure to the 
people of the Canary Islands, who raise it in 
large fields, pull it up, burn it, and drive a 
good trade with the soda which they get 
from its ashes. 

Thus far the answer to George's question 
tells us what salt is and where it comes 
from. It will not be amiss to add here some 
other facts mentioned concerning this sub- 
stance which addresses itself so strongly to 
the taste, seasoning the potatoes but making 
the strawberries quite unpalatable. Such 
facts as these illustrate its value to animal 
life : " The wild buffalo on the plains, and 
the deer, as well as the cattle in our barn- 
yards, are fond of it. Indeed, life would 
perish without salt. In old times, when 

cruelty was the fashion, one of the worst 
11 



162 INLETS AND OUTLETS. 

punishments was not to let a poor criminal 
have a grain of salt in his food ; and the 
consequence was a slow and terrible death." 

And out of the value attached to this sub- 
stance by all nations grew the custom long 
ago among the Arabs of binding their bar- 
gains by the use of salt. " A tray of salt is 
put between the two contracting parties; 
each takes a lick, and that means good faith 
for ever." 

Thus I might go on, and tell you even 
more at length about other substances that 
are agreeable to the taste. If you wanted 
to learn all that could be learned, you would 
have to read all the books that have been 
written about fruit-bearing shrubs and trees 
in all lands, and even after that you might 
keep on learning every day. 

But leaving all this, I want to say some- 
thing else here that is quite as important. 

Taste is a great temptatio7i to unlawful in- 
dulgence in eating and drinking. What I 
mean by unlawful indulgence is everything 



TASTE. 163 

beyond what the body requires to keep it in 
the most healthy condition. 

Remember that I am talking of the care 
you owe to your body as a religious duty. 
The Bible tells you that you are to glorify, 
please, obey, God in your body as well as 
in your soul, and you can easily see the 
reason of this. If the body is the temple in 
which the spirit dwells, you ought not to let 
the temple fall into ruin. If the body is the 
instrument that enables you to show your 
love to God by doing his will, you ought to 
keep it, if possible, in good repair. When 
the walls of a house of worship become 
stained and the roof is leaky, painters and 
slaters are set to work, and all is made 
beautiful and water-tight again. When the 
loom on which beautiful silks are woven is 
out of order, it is at once mended, and fit- 
ted again for its delicate and skillful work. 
Now, there is no such house of worship and 
no such machinery as that body of yours, 
and you cannot serve God with it as you 



164 INLETS AND OUTLETS, 

ought if it be all broken down and spoiled. 
It is a grander, nobler piece of workmanship 
than has ever displayed the skill of man — no 
cathedral or palace, however costly, will com- 
pare with it — and what God has so fearfully 
and wonderfully made, should be watched 
over and cared for, and protected, if possi- 
ble, from injury and decay, for if the body 
is weak and shattered, it will be impossi- 
ble for the soul to do as well, or even to feel 
as well, as if it were healthy and strong. 

Bear this in mind. I w^ant you to look 
upon your body as the instrument God has 
made for the soul to work with, as the loom 
with which you are to weave beautiful pic- 
tures every day of deeds done for him, as 
the temple in which he is to be worshiped. 
Bear this in mind, and then you will rightly 
understand what I am going to say about 
taste as a source of temptation, 

Bemember that taste and hunger go to- 
gether. Now, hunger should always rule, 
and never be ruled by, its companion. 



TASTE. 165 

You will see the truth of this if you 
know what hunger is. Hunger is a sentinel 
stationed at the door of life to tell you 
when the body requires food. It is, as it 
were, the voice of God himself, saying, 
" Now it is time to eat." How much, then, 
ought you to eat in obedience to this voice ? 
Just enough to silence it, and no more. 
The moment you eat more than enough to 
satisfy hunger you do the body more harm 
than good. 

Well, what has taste to do with all this 
mischief? I w^ill tell you. Taste has been 
appointed the handmaid of hunger, to wait 
upon it and spread the table for it, and 
hunger has been appointed to preside at the 
feast, and to say " Enough," when the body 
has received all it needs. But the mischief 
begins when taste, the mere help and hand- 
maid, stands behind the chair of each guest, 
and whispers in the ear, '' Eat more than 
enough." 

I believe you understand that ; but lest 



166 INLETS AND OUTLETS. 

you may not, let me make it a little plainer. 
Have you not often kept on eating because 
it tasted so good until you felt that you had 
eaten far more than enough ? In this way 
it is that taste is a temptation to over-indul- 
gence. You sit down at a table loaded with 
good things in great variety; you partake 
eagerly and largely of every dish because 
each is so palatable, and the result is sur- 
feiting. 

All this is said in the Bible. The same 
words may not be there, but the same com- 
mand to abstain from the sin of gluttony is 
there. Whether you eat or drink, you are 
to do all to the glory of God, which means 
that you are to eat and drink so as to keep 
your body unimpaired, and so as not to dull 
the mind and stupefy the soul. 

And just here I w^ant to say another 
thing. You must let reason and conscience 
regulate your taste. You are not like the 
horse and the ox in this respect. They sel- 
dom, if ever, indulge too freely. Their food 



TASTE. 167 

is simple ; and when the cravings of hunger 
are satisfied, they stop eating. They do not 
reason on the subject. They have not con- 
science to guide them. Neither have you 
those strong and commanding instincts 
which keep them from doing themselves 
harm. You must study God's law and 
your own physical and moral nature, and 
act accordingly. 

You must curb the appetite as you curb 
the horse that is carrying you with his swift 
feet over smooth roads among pleasant fields. 
All is well enough so long as he does not 
run away with you. And well enough also 
is it to indulge the sense of taste within the 
bounds of reason, but you must have the 
fences high and the reins strong, or it will 
carry you into excess. 

What is the object of eating ? It is to make 
good again the daily wear and tear of the 
body. You know how it is with an ordi- 
nary machine ; the wood and iron of which 
it is composed are continually wearing away, 



168 INLETS AND OUTLETS. 

and after a while new parts have to be put in 
the places of those that are worn out. Well, 
it is just so with the human body, with this 
difference — that the body is a living machine 
so constructed as to be able to repair itself. 
In this living machine there is waste and de- 
cay every moment. You cannot walk, you 
cannot lift your arm, without causing the 
destruction of some of the particles of which 
the muscles are composed. The object of 
the food is to repair this loss — to build up 
again, particle for particle, so that the body 
will retain its form, and be as vigorous as if 
there were none of this waste going on. 

The food is converted into blood, and the 
blood, running to every part of the body, 
leaves here and there and everywhere the 
materials that will serve to rebuild the waste 
places. And you need just food enough to 
accomplish this. Any more than enough is 
hurtful, because this rebuilding is done by 
certain organs which become overworked 
if you supply them with more material than 



TASTE, 169 

they want. So long as the supply is only 
equal to the demand, they perform their 
daily task without weariness ; but when the 
supply is greater than the demand, they be- 
come weary and worn out in getting rid of 
the surplus. It is very much as if you were 
building a house with your own hands, and 
the hod-carrier were to bring you many more 
brick and much more mortar than you 
wanted ; it would not only trammel you in 
your work, but if you had to remove what 
you did not use, it would double your labor, 
and leave you no time for rest. 

The mind too is concerned in this curbing 
of the appetite, as well as the body, as I 
have already told you. Excess in eating in- 
terferes with study, and often makes one 
cross and disobliging. It causes the brain to 
throb and the head to ache, and spoils the 
temper at the same time. 

Curb the appetite, I have said, as you 
curb the spirited horse. One good way to 
curb the horse is to increase the load. If 



no INLETS AND OUTLETS. 

you have four persons in your carriage, you 
will not have to pull at the reins as hard 
as if you are alone. The horse that can 
hardly be managed before a light wagon 
becomes very sedate and gentle when you 
put him to drawing a ton of hay. 

One way to curb the appetite is to share 
generously with others the good things that 
are so pleasant to the taste. If boys and 
girls betray their selfishness anywhere, it is 
almost sure to be in eating and drinking. I 
have more than once seen a boy with an 
apple in his hand so big that he could hardly 
hold it, and a brother or sister looking wist- 
fully on while he munched it to the last bite 
without offering any one else a taste. From 

Little Jack Horner, 

who 

Sat in a corner 

Eating his Christmas pie, 

to the lad who takes his plum-cake to college, 
and who is frequently absent from the reci- 
tation-room while it lasts, there is the same 
foolish and hurtful excess which a little 



TASTE, 171 

generosity would cure ; and the cure would 
not only promote the health of the body, but 
do the soul good too. 

There is an excellent story told about 
" tasteless kisses " that illustrates this. 

It was a pretty room, full of all the little 
indescribable home-like comforts that make 
one involuntarily feel a sense of cosiness 
and rest. There was a canary in the win- 
dow singing prophecies of spring. There 
were flowers in full bloom, and there were 
children who ought to have been happy in 
hearing the bird and in the sight of the 
flowers, if they were not. 

" Now, Harry," said Florry, " you ought 
to give me half of that orange." 

*'I sha'n't do it," replied Harry; ''I want 
it all myself." 

" But mamma tells you always to give me 
half of your things." 

" I don't care," said the little fellow, with 
an assumption of bravery that was very 
amusing. 



172 INLETS AND OUTLETS, 

Then Florry turned to her mother, and 
asked appealingly, '' Can't Harry give me 
half his orange ?" 

" It's his own orange, dear," replied her 
mother, looking up serenely from the frock 
she was embroidering. Meanwhile, the lit- 
tle powers in the corner carried on a quiet 
sort of warfare, the one obstinate, the other 
tearful. 

By and by bedtime drew near, and nurse 
carried off the combatants to the nursery. 
After a few moments she returned, and their 
mother went to them to hear their prayers 
and tuck them into bed. This visit was 
never omitted, and it was the happiest half 
hour in the day to mother and children. 
There was a great deal of loving, a great 
deal of frolicking, in that half hour. All 
the little dijQ&culties of the day were settled, 
and the little faults confessed and pardoned, 
bO that the darlings could go to bed quite 
content and happy. 

On this particular evening Florry and 



TASTE. 173 

Harry stood in their night-gowns on the 
hearth warming their little pink toes. The 
mother sat down, and they both sprang into 
her lap. She kissed and caressed them, but 
Harry soon perceived a lack somewhere, 
which he expressed thus : 

"You don't kiss me so sweet to-night, 
mamma." 

" Don't I, Harry ? Well, it must be your 
fault, then, for I always love my darling just 
the same. Perhaps you have been naughty 
or selfish some time to-day." 

The round, rosy face grew very grave and 
thoughtful : " Perhaps it was the orange, 
mamma." 

Florry listened with big eyes. 

" Perhaps," answered mamma. 

"But you said I needn't give it to Florry." 

"I said it was your own ; I do not force 
you to give up your own things, but I was 
sorry that you were so selfish as to want to 
keep it all. Nobody's kisses will taste sweet 
when you are selfish." 



174 INLETS AND OUTLETS, 

'^ But, mamma," persisted the little rea- 
soner, " why didn't you make me give half 
toFlorry?" 

" I can't make you do things. I could 
have forced your hands to give half the 
orange to sister ; but if your heart had not 
been willing, you wouldn't really have given 
it to her, would you, dear?" 

^' No, mamma." 

'' Now, Harry, if your heart is right, and 
you wish you had given Florry the half 
orange, when you have another you can give 
her the whole. How will that do?"* 

Harry threw his arms around Florry's 
chubby neck, saying, 

"I'll give you the piece I ate up to-day 
with my heart now; then when I get another 
orange I'll give you all — every bit." 

"Yes," said the little sister, returning 
her brother's hug with interest. 

The affair of the orange thus settled on a 
satisfactory and solid basis, the kisses tasted 
sweet ; and after a great many had been ex- 



TASTE. 175 

changed, Florry and Harry were put into 
their cunning little cribs, and were asleep in 
a twinkling. Mamma went back to her room, 
softly humming snatches of a tender song, 
and the one who witnessed all this followed, 
thinking over and over again, ^' Nobody's 
kisses taste sweet when we are selfish." 

Yes, the soul is gifted with taste as well as 
the body ; but before I say more about that, 
I want to tell you that in curbing the appe- 
tite you are to be cautious in regard to what 
you drink as well as in regard to what you eat. 

The most natural drink and the most 
abundant — that which God has provided for 
all, and which may be usually had without 
money and without price — -is water. Nothing 
is so welcome to the thirsty man as this. 
The Bible speaks of streams in the desert 
as among the most valuable of all blessings. 

Thirst, like hunger, is a sentinel at the 
door of life, saying, " Now is the time to 
drink.'' The rivers flow, and the springs 
gush out of the hills and tumble playfully 



176 INLETS AND OUTLETS, 

over the rocks, as if they were saying to 
every one, " Here is plenty, and here is joy ; 
quench your thirst, and be glad." 

Pure water is always beautiful, and all 
the more so because it is full of health and 
never sets the brain on fire, never brings 
poverty and shame upon those who drink 
it. One morning in the early summer-time 
I opened the window just as the sun was 
rising, and saw on the tree opposite more 
dew-drops hanging from the leaves than I 
could count; and when the sun kissed 
them, they blushed into all the colors of the 
rainbow. More beautiful than the opal, 
more sparkling than the diamond, was each 
little drop, and each one seemed to say, 
"Men will not be destroyed if they will 
only drink me, and the homes that are now 
wretched because men love other drink 
shall become bright as the green fields, and 
be filled with plenty like the trees that grow 
on the river's bank." 

Water is among God's best and greatest 




A WATEKFAIiL IN CHINA. 



'2 



TASTE. 179 

gifts. Therefore he has made the ocean so 
broad and deep that there may be always 
enough and to spare, and that it may be 
free to all as the air they breathe. The sun- 
beams lift it from every sea, leaving the salt 
behind ; the pure water gathers in the 
clouds, and falls upon the mountains and in 
the valleys. It forms the sparkling rills and 
the glorious waterfalls that bound from rock 
to rock. It fills the streams, and we dip 
it eagerly from the overflowing fountain and 
quench our thirst. The corn grows more 
thriftily as the rain-drops fall around the 
thirsty roots and find their way into every 
little open mouth ; the strong oak is glad 
when the showers descend ; the meadows put 
on their brightest looks, and the drooping 
flowers lift up their heads. Every leaf on 
which the liquid beads are hanging, and 
every bird that drinks and then warbles its 
note of thanks, seems to say, 

" Water, cold water, for me." 

God's most abundant gifts are of greatest 



180 INLETS AND OUTLETS, 

value. The shining drops distilled from the 
briny sea are worth more than precious stones. 
A traveler once missed his way and lost 
himself in the desert. Faint and trembling 
for want of water, he discovered a small 
bag lying on the ground. Had it been a 
pouch of water, it would have been welcome 
indeed. But, alas ! it contained nothing 
but pearls. Though they were worth thou- 
sands of dollars, they were of less value to 
him at that moment than a single drink 
would have been from some clear fountain. 
So he prayed earnestly to God for help, and 
in answer to his prayer a Moor, who had 
lost the pearls, came riding hastily on his 
camel, and brought the thirsty man to a 
green spot beneath a palm tree where the 
water was sparkling in the sun. When he 
knelt down and the water touched his 
parched lips, it was as if he said to the kind 
Moor who rescued him, 

" Worth more than gold or pearls, you see, 
Each little drop that strengthens me." 



TASTE. 181 

There is wealth in cold water. It imparts 
serenity to the mind, and purity to the 
blood, and vigor to the limbs, and shuts the 
door against want. Let your taste for drink 
be in accordance with nature. Love what 
the trees and the birds love, that you may 
bear precious fruit and sing glad and thank- 
ful songs. 

It was in the winter, and the snow was 
falling, when a young man staggei^d into 
an old wooden building and lay down upon 
straw. Somehow, during the night, the 
straw took fire, and he was terribly and 
fatally burned. This young man had cul- 
ture and friends, and once had wealth too. 
He might have had a brilliant career; but 
his taste became perverted by the use of 
strong drink, and he was lost. Let Taste 
not be written upon the drink that intoxi- 
cates the brain, and impairs the reason, and 
destroys self-respect, and stamps eternal ruin 
upon the soul. 

Said a brave boy who understood God's 



182 INLETS AND OUTLETS, 

law and obeyed it: ^'I would like to have 
ruddy cheeks and bright eyes and vigorous 
limbs. But they say that strong drink dims 
the eye and whitens the cheek and enfee- 
bles the frame; therefore I will not drink 
at all. 

" I would like to have a clear mind, so that 
I may think on great things. But they say 
that strong drink clouds the mind, and often 
destroys it ; therefore I will not drink at all. 

" I would like to have a peaceful heart and 
a quiet conscience, so that I may be truly 
happy. But they say that strong drink fills 
many a heart with misery, and implants in 
many a conscience a sting ; therefore I will 
not drink at all. 

" I would like to have a happy home and a 
happy fireside, where I could rejoice with 
loving brothers and sisters and parents. 
But they say that strong drink makes ten 
thousand homes wretched ; therefore I will 
not drink at all. 

" I would like to serve God, and do good 



TASTE. 183 

to others. But they say that strong drink 
drives God out of the soul, and makes it 
unkind and cruel to others ; therefore I will 
not drink at all." 

These were wise resolves, and this is what 
they meant: I will keep my taste pure as 
God made it, so that it shall always bring 
me health and friends. I will never debase 
it; for if I do, it will in turn debase me, 
and instead of being served by it I shall 
become its victim and its slave. Wise shall 
we be if we make the same resolve. 

The soul too is gifted with taste as well 
as the body, and like that of the body it is 
often perverted and wrong. Indeed, it al- 
ways is until Jesus makes it right. The 
soul has a natural taste for sin. It prefers 
it to obedience and holiness, and Jesus 
has come to put it in love with purity 
and truth. The soul needs healthy food 
and drink, and Jesus offers it the bread and 
water of life. He has made a feast and 
spread a table, and says, " Behold, my oxen 



184 INLETS AND OUTLETS. 

and fallings are ready ;" " If any one thirst, 
let him come unto me and drink." 

You know how it was with Jesus himself. 
Once he was very hungry, and his disciples 
went to a neighboring village to buy some- 
thing to eat. When they returned, their 
Master did not seem hungry at all, and they 
were surprised, and wondered whether any 
one had ministered to his wants during their 
absence. His answer to their surmising 
was, " My meat is to do the will of Him that 
sent me, and to finish his work." 

What your soul needs is the will to do 
God's will. Let it have this, and then its 
taste will be right, and there will be enough 
for it to eat and to drink. Only come to 
Jesus and believe in him, and you will de- 
sire nothing but what it is best and lawful 
for you to have. His own words tell you 
that if you come to him you shall never 
hunger, and if you believe in him you shall 
never thirst. 

When the Jews were in the wilderness, 



TASTE. 185 

Moses touched the hard rock with his rod, 
and the water flow^ed out. That rock, you 
are told, was Christ. As the rock was 
struck in the "wilderness, so was Christ smit- 
ten on the cross ; and out of his wounded 
side have been flowing ever since the prom- 
ises and provisions of your heavenly Father's 
love. The bread of life is right before you : 
it is the pardon of sin, and strength to do 
what God would have you do. The water 
of life is flowing at your very feet : it is the 
power of Jesus to wash and cleanse the 
soul. All you have to do is to reach out 
and drink. 

A ship was sailing in the waters of the 
Southern Atlantic, when those on board saw 
another vessel making signals of distress. 
They bore down toward the distressed ship, 
and hailed it with the cry, "What is the 
matter ?" 

"We are dying for water,'' was the re- 
sponse. 

" Dip it up, then," was answered — " dip it 



186 INLETS AND OUTLETS, 

up ; you are in the mouth of the Amazon 
Kiver." 

There those sailors were thirsting and 
suffering and fearing, and longing for water, 
and supposing there was only the ocean's 
brine around them, when in fact they had 
sailed unconsciously into the broad mouth 
of the mightiest river on the globe, and did 
not know it. Though to them it seemed 
that they must perish with thirst, yet there 
were miles of fresh water all around them, 
and they had nothing to do but to dip it up. 

So Jesus says, " If any man " — any one, 
man, woman or child — " thirst, let him come 
unto me and drink." The water is all 
around you. All that you need to make 
you pure and happy and useful is, to dip 
and drink, and thirst no more. 



SMELL. 



Awake, O north wind, and coine thou south; blow upon my 
garden, that the spices thereof may flow out. — Solomon's Song 
iv. i6. 

An odor of a siveet smell, a sacrifice acceptable, wellpleasing 
to God. — Philippians iv. i8. 




I 



SMELL. 

^HE organ of smell is the nose — a fea- 
ture of the face that varies in shape 
^'^^ and size far more than the eye or 
the ear. It has much to do with the 
symmetry of the human countenance, and 
in connection with the other organs is a 
proof of the wisdom that has so arranged 
them all as to produce upon the mind an 
impression of fitness and beauty. 

There is nothing more beautiful than the 
face of a happy child, the eye lit up with 
pleasure as it looks upon the green fields, 
while the clover or the new-mown hay fills 
the air with sweetness that is drawn in with 
every breath, and the bird-song strikes the 
ear and sends music to the soul. Two ears 
are better than one, and tw^o eyes are better 
than one, though the one w^ere so constructed 

189 



190 INLETS AND OUTLETS. 

as to do the work of two, because there is 
more beauty in the arrangement. And one 
nose is better than two for the same reason. 

The sense of smell could be spared more 
easily than either of the other senses, and it 
seems therefore mainly intended to add to 
our enjoyment. Still, it has its uses. In 
some degree it helps our choice between 
healthful and hurtful food. When the air 
is full of unhealthy gases, it often warns us 
of their presence. If, for example, you go 
from the fresh, pure atmosphere that you 
are apt to find out of doors on a cold winter 
day into a close, heated room occupied by 
several persons, the sense of smell will tell 
you that there is poison in the air. If 
putrid meat is put on the table, your nose 
tells you not to eat it — that it is not fit for 
food. If vegetables are decaying in the 
cellar, your faithful nose bids you take them 
away, so that you may not breathe the foul 
gases. It is a great help to the blind in 
enabling them to distinguish one substance 



SMELL. 



191 



from another. It may sometimes detect sin, 
as when the breath of the tempted boy re- 
veals the secret of his having eaten the for- 
bidden fruit. To those animals who depend 




The Human Nostril,. 
In the engraving you can see the soft membrane within the 
cavity of the human nose over which the nerves of smell are 
spread. This membrane, or coating, passes over the hollow 
space, and has foldings, so as to give a larger surface for the 
spreading of the nerves, and thus increase the power of smell- 
ing. 

upon it in hunting their prey it is very im- 
portant, and even indispensable. 

Within the nose there is a membrane or 
lining, soft and velvety, over which small 



192 INLETS AND OUTLETS. 

threads that you have learned to call nerves 
are spread. These are so arranged as to 
resemble ^'the twigs of a branch, and the 
many branches within the nostril join to- 
gether, so as to form larger branches, which 
may be likened to the boughs of a tree. 
These finally terminate in a number of 
stems or trunks, several for each nostril, 
which pass upward through openings pro- 
vided for them, and terminate in the brain," 
and thus the impression of the odor, whether 
pleasant or unpleasant, is carried to the mind. 
But how is the impression produced ? 
When you pass a clover-field, it is supposed 
that particles of the clover are floating in 
the air, and that these particles come in 
contact with the olfactory nerve, as the 
nerve of smell is called, and that this gives 
rise to the agreeable sensation. So, if it is 
an orange or a magnolia you smell, the sen- 
sation is thought to be produced in the same 
way. According to this idea, minute por- 
tions of the substance, whether it be a cake 



SMELL, 193 

hot from the oven or something else, are 
continually passing off, and are drawn into 
the nostrils with every breath. This may 
account for the fact that when you are 
hungry, and get the smell of a good dinner, 
it makes your mouth water. It is as if you 
had a foretaste of the welcome food. These 
particles, however, are so small as to be in- 
visible to the eye, nor can they be seen by 
the aid of the most powerful microscope, 
How small they are it is impossible to tell 
or conceive. It is said that a grain of musk 
is capable of perfuming for several years a 
room twelve feet square without seeming to 
lose anything in size or weight. Such a 
room contains two million nine hundred 
and eighty-five thousand nine hundred and 
eighty-four cubic inches, and each cubic 
inch contains one thousand cubic tenths of 
an inch, making in all nearly three billions 
of cubic tenths of an inch. Now, it is pos- 
sible — indeed, almost certain — that each such 
cubic tenth of an inch of the air of the 

13 



194 INLETS AND OUTLETS. 

room contains one or more of the particles 
of the musk, and that this air has been 
changed many thousands of times. The 
number of particles that thus pass off from 
the single grain of musk in several years 
can hardly be imagined, it is so great, and 
yet, taken together, they weigh and measure 
so little that the grain of musk seems to 
have lost nothing whatever. 

This reminds me of the influence of a 
pure and useful life. As the apple-blossoms 
fill the air with their fragrance, while they 
retain their form and beauty, so there can 
be no loss to yourself in the good words 
you speak and the good deeds you perform. 
You may make others happy in every way 
you can, and yet the gladness you shed 
around you will take nothing from your 
own. Let your gentle looks be multiplied 
until they cannot be counted, and the heart 
from which they come will be just as large 
and just as full as before they went out. 

This provision, by means of which we 



SMELL, 195 

derive additional pleasure from many objects 
that are useful and beautiful to the eye, as 
well as pleasant to the touch, is another 
proof of the love that made man as he is. 
Let us look at this a little, that we may 
learn more of God and more of his love to 
us. 

Take now an apple in your hand and ex- 
amine it. What is the main purpose for 
which that apple has been created? It is 
said that one main purpose is the perpetua- 
tion of fruit of its own kind. And so, if 
you cut it open, you find the seeds from 
which, if planted, new trees will grow. 
They are carefully laid away in the very 
centre, and surrounded by hard cases in 
which they can move freely, these cases be- 
ing surrounded in their turn by the pulp of 
which the apple mostly consists. This pulp 
sustains life. And therefore another main 
purpose of the creation of the apple is that 
it may be eaten by man and beast. 

These two purposes, the preservation of 



196 INLETS AND OUTLETS. 

the seed, and the supply of food are indis- 
pensable. 

But now pass your fingers over the apple, 
and notice its smoothness and how pleasant 
it is to the touch. Look at its form ; how 
beautifully round or oval it is! and how 
graceful the indentation at each end ! — the 
one to admit the stem by which it adheres 
to the tree, and through which it receives 
its nourishment until it becomes ripe, and 
the other ornamented with a five-parted 
crown. Then look at its color — green speck- 
led with black, or yellow, with a red cheek, 
or red, striped with a deeper red. This 
smoothness and this beauty of form and 
color are not essential either to the preser- 
vation of the seed or to the nourishment it 
affords as food. God has added these be- 
cause he is so good, and wants to multiply 
the sources of our happiness. 

Now eat the apple, and in its luscious taste 
you have another proof of the same love. 

But, before the apple, comes the blossom, 



SMELL, 197 

and that too is beautiful to the eye and 
pleasant to the touch. Yet this is not all. 
It also yields a perfume that awakens de- 
lightful emotions in the mind through the 
sense of smell. Here is still another proof 
of the same love ; for even the visible blos- 
som might have been withheld, or if visible 
it might have been made without any beauty 
to attract the eye and without any power 
to fill the air with sweetness and send to us 
a new joy with every breath. 

*^ What plant we in the apple tree ? 
Sweets for a hundred flowery springs, 
To load the May wind^s restless wings, 
"When, from the orchard-row, he pours 
Its fragrance through our open doors ; 

A world of blossoms for the bee, 
Flowers for the sick girl's silent room, 
For the glad infant sprigs of bloom. 
We plant with the apple tree. 

" What plant we in the apple tree ? 
Fruit that shall swell in sunny June, 
And redden in the August noon, 
And drop as gentle airs come by ^ 

That fan the blue September sky. 



198 INLETS AND OUTLETS, 

While children, wild with noisy glee, 
Shall scent their fragrance as they pass. 
And search for them the tufted grass 

At the foot of the apple tree." 

A poor invalid had been confined to her 
room for many years. Do you think she 
was found crying because she could not go 
out into the sunshine? No; she seemed 
very happy. One day she was looking at 
a bunch of beautiful roses that filled her 
room with fragrance, and said to one who 
called to see her, " I am glad you have come, 
for you can enjoy these roses with me." 

''What beauties !" said her friend ; " where 
did you get them ?" 

"I don't know where they came from," 
was the answer. " They were left at the 
door yesterday, with a message that the 
Lord sent them, and I like to think he did." 

Yes, without doubt the Lord sent her 
those roses, for he made them grow and 
gave them all their sweetness, and then he 
guided the hand that plucked them and 
brought them as the Lord's gift. ''Inas- 



SMELL, 199 

much as ye have done it unto one of the 
least of these my disciples, ye have done it 
unto me," are the words of the Lord himself 
to those who run on his errands, whether 
they carry a cup of cold water or a bunch 
of roses. 

I remember visiting frequently a sick girl 
in whose "silent room," upon a small table, 
fresh flowers were placed each morning. 
These flowers were sent to her daily by a 
young friend of hers, and she often spoke 
of their fragrance as a great joy. It seemed 
to her like a " still, small voice," whispering 
words of comfort and cheer, speaking of 
her heavenly Father's love and bidding her 
put her trust in him. 

The sense of hearing and the sense of 
smell seem to be somewhat related in this, 
that the same air carries sound to the one 
and odor to the other. King Solomon called 
upon the north wind and the south wind to 
blow upon his garden, and bear to him the 
fragrance of the spices that grew there, and 



200 INLETS AND OUTLETS, 

the same wind carried to his ear the music 
of the birds who built their nests and reared 
their young in the trees whose blossoms and 
fruit spiced the air. 

Let me say to you now a few more words 
about gardens, and the flowers that grow 
there, and the winds that lift the sweet 
odors and carry them away through " open 
doors " and windows. Flowers without fra- 
grance are not as highly valued as those 
that are sweet to the smell. For this reason 
the little, unpretending violet ranks above 
many flowers whose showy forms and glow- 
ing colors render them far more attractive 
to the eye. We love the clover-fields be- 
cause they are so sweet. Those gardens are 
most inviting whose beds are bordered with 
fragrant flowers. Those breezes are most 
welcome which bring to us the smell of the 
honeysuckle and its lovely sisters. 

But this is not all I want to say. When 
I speak of gardens and flowers and winds, 
I want you to see and understand their 



SMELL, 201 

deeper meaning. You know that in the 
word of God all natural objects, such as the 
trees, and the clouds, and the mountains, 
and the wheat-fields, are regarded as em- 
blems of higher truths. The good man, for 
example, is said to be like a tree planted by 
the water-course, its roots constantly moist- 
ened and its branches sure to be green and 
fruitful. So that whenever you look at a 
tree thus situated you are to think of the 
happy and flourishing condition of the man 
who is doing his best to serve God, and who 
is receiving from Heaven constant supplies 
of wisdom and strength, which, like the 
full, flowing stream, keep him from being 
unfruitful. 

The people of God are likened to a 
watered garden, and the Spirit of God is 
spoken of as the wind that fans the plants 
of this garden, bringing to them their life, 
and at the same time bearing away to others 
the attractive sweetness of their blossoming 
and fruit-bearing obedience. 



202 INLETS AND OUTLETS. 

What I mean is this : Your life is to be 
full of fragrance. There is to be something 
more than words or deeds — a purity, a love- 
liness, that, like the perfume of the flowers, 
gives to words and deeds their greatest 
charm. 

Let me make my meaning still plainer, 
if I can, by telling you a parable. 

Samuel, the judge and ruler of Israel, one 
day visited the school of the prophets which 
he had established at Gibeah. The progress 
of the scholars in the various branches of 
knowledge and in vocal and instrumental 
music greatly delighted him. 

Among the scholars was a young man 
named Adonijah. Samuel was much de- 
lighted with his appearance. His complex- 
ion was dark, his countenance beautiful and 
his voice strong and pleasing. But his soul 
was full of pride. He thought himself 
wiser than seven sages, and his intercourse 
with his teachers was full of insult and con- 
ceit. 



SMELL, 203 

Samuel pitied the youth, for he knew 
that this foolish pride would destroy his 
usefulness. ^^This boy," said Samuel to 
himself, " might become a prophet in Israel, 
but he is defeating the purpose for which 
his talents were given him." 

It was the season in which the vine is in 
bloom. Samuel, taking the young man into 
a vineyard upon the side of a mountain, 
said to him, '^ Adonijah, what seest thou ?" 

Adonijah answered, " I see a vineyard, 
and it wafts over me the perfume of its 
many blossoms." 

^'Did you ever notice these blossoms?" 
said Samuel ; " if not, come here and ex- 
amine them closely." 

Then the youth took one in his hand, 
looked at it long and carefully, and said, 

" How unpretending it is, and how small 
— how modest in hue and humble in form !" 

'^ iVnd yet," replied Samuel, ^'it produces 
goodly fruit to cheer the heart of man. 
Thus, Adonijah, must be your growth in 



204 INLETS AND OUTLETS. 

the season of your bloom, if that life of 
yours is ever to bring forth precious fruit. 
Remember the vine in your blooming 
youth.'' 

Adonijah cherished all the words of 
Samuel in his heart, and from that moment 
was full of a mild and gentle spirit. He 
was soon universally beloved, and grew in 
wisdom and in the knowledge of himself, 
and his name was praised throughout all 
Israel. 

Words are easily spoken, and many deeds 
are easily done ; but to speak and to act 
with that humility, that self-forgetfulness, 
which is the fragrance of all true words and 
noble deeds, is not so easy. He who made 
the flowers and gave them the power to 
send out their sweet odors must create in 
you, my young friend, the spirit of love, 
which is the spirit of humility, or your life 
will never send out a winning sweetness that 
will make your presence gladden others. 

Let me remind you again that this fra- 



SMELL. 205 

grance of which I am speaking is neither 
seen nor heard. Have you never met per- 
sons with whom you were pleased the first 
time you saw them ? You knew not why, 
only there was something about them, not 
put on, but surrounding them, as the per- 
fume surrounds the flower, by which you 
were attracted. This something, whatever 
it is, you should aim to make your own. It 
is not yours by nature. It is the gift of 
grace — the gift of God's loving Spirit — and 
grows out of the life implanted in the soul 
by him. 

" I'll tell your mother of you," said one 
little girl to another. 

'' Tell her," was the response ; " you can- 
not tell her anything wrong of me that I 
do not tell her myself." 

That was a true, outspoken humility, and 
I venture to say a girl so candid and free 
from pride had many friends, and that she 
had made Jesus her friend and had received 
this temper from him. 



206 INLETS AND OUTLETS. 

" Father, what can I do for you to-day ?" 
asked a dear little girl, looking up from the 
breakfast-table into her father's face. 

" Why do you want to do anything for a 
bio; man like me?" asked her father. 

" Because I love you so," was the answer. 

Love cannot hold back its fragrance, any 
more than the flower, and what a sweet, 
winning life a pure love always makes ! 

Two brothers and a sister were rambling 
one beautiful spring day over the fields. 
The larks were singing and the flowers still 
had the dew upon them, and were unfolding 
in the mild rays of the sun. Then one of 
them said, " Let each of us select a favorite 
flow^er." The proposal pleased the others, 
and away they bounded over the fields, each 
to cull the flower that delighted most. In a 
short time they returned, bringing their 
flowers with them. 

" I have chosen the violet," said Gustavus, 
" because it blooms in silent modesty among 
leaves and grass. It is honored and loved 



SMELL. 207 

by men, and sung in beautiful songs as tbe 
first-born child of spring. These are the 
reasons why I have chosen it as my favorite 
flower." 

Then he gave Herman and Malvina each 
one of his flowers, and each received it with 
inward joy, for it was the favorite flower of 
a brother. 

Then Herman showed his nosegay. It 
was composed of the tender lily that grows 
in the cool shade, and lifts up its bells like 
pearls strung together, and white as the 
light of the sun. 

" I have chosen this flower," said he, '' be- 
cause it is the emblem of innocence and of 
a pure heart, and it proclaims to me the 
love of Him who adorns heaven with stars 
and the earth with flowers. Did not the 
Saviour point to it as the pledge of our 
heavenly Father's care, and as a reason for 
our trust in him? Therefore it is my fa- 
vorite ;" and he handed one to his brother 
and one to his sister, who received them 



208 INLETS AND OUTLETS, 

gladly, and thus the flower was consecrated 
by their mutual love. 

Then Malvina displayed her nosegay. It 
was composed of the tender blue forget-me- 
not. 

" I found this flower/' said she, " near the 
brook. It is reflected in the clear water on 
whose margin it grows, and the little stream 
looks as if it were crowned with wreaths. 
It is the emblem of love and gentleness, and 
I present it to you both." She gave it with 
a kiss, and with a kiss her brothers thanked 
her. 

Then they made two garlands of the 
flowers and carried them home, and told 
the story of their pleasant rambles. 

'' A beautiful wreath !" said their mother 
— " love, innocence and modesty twined to- 
gether. And see how one flower elevates 
and adorns the other, and thus they form 
unitedly the most lovely crown." 

"There is but one thing wanting," said 
the children, and in the fervor of their 



SMELL. 209 

affection they crowned both father and 
mother. 

Tell me : was not the love of these chil- 
dren more fragrant than the flowers of 
which their garlands were composed? At 
the door of the cottage in which they lived, 
perchance, the honeysuckle twined, and 
beds of pinks and roses grew near ; but 
through the open windows of that cottage 
they did not send such sweetness as filled 
that happy home from the blooming of such 
earnest, mutual love. 

You know what I mean now by the fra- 
grance of a pure and gentle life ; as the flower 
is sweet to the smell, so is such a life to the 
Spirit. It may belong to you, as it belonged 
to Jesus when a child in his lowly home ; 
for if you love A^m, you will be like him. 

*^ The breeze blew fragrant from the hills, 

The blue lake gently murmured near: 

But sweeter than the mountain's flower, 

And purer than the water clear, 
Was Sharon's rose beneath that roof, 
The holy child so pure and fair ; 
14 



210 INLETS AND OUTLETS, 

In meek obedience, year by year, 

Love's perfect pattern, lingering there. 

" Then often let your thought discern 

That cottage-home in Galilee, 
And from this pure example learn 

What Christian children ought to be ; 
Show in your home and in your heart 

Obedient love and duteous care. 
And Christ, who w^as a peasant child, 

Will come himself and bless you there." 

Just at this point, there is one thing more 
I want to tell you: The life you live can- 
not have this winning sweetness without 
sincerity. You know what that means. 
You must be what you profess to be. The 
perfume of the rose is not put on as you 
put on a garment. You may sprinkle sweet 
odors on waxen flowers, but sooner or later 
the wax will smell through. So if your 
words are kind while your feelings are un- 
kind, if your face is full of smiles while 
your heart is full of envy and ill-will, you 
will not be able to keep the falsehood from 
smelling through all these pleasant looks 



SMELL. 211 

and friendly words. If a flower were to 
exhale sweetness one day and anything but 
sweetness the next, you would fling it away, 
the more impatiently for the disappointment 
it had created. Insincerity will soon cause 
others to shun you as you would shun the 
deceiving flower. 

Harry Hoi beach, of whom I have told 
you before, had a conscience that was above 
deceit or concealment. In a certain little 
chapel one Sunday he managed unthink- 
ingly to fumble off one of the knots of the 
cushion that covered the seat in the pew. 
Greatly alarmed at the deed, he carried oflF 
the knot and hid it away. But his con- 
science made him wretched. That button, 
small matter as it was, was yet property, 
and he felt that he was bound to confess 
what he had done and give it up. At last 
he one day burst into tears at his mother's 
knee, made confession and expressed a de- 
sire to ask forgiveness of God. 

On another occasion he was out of doors 



212 INLETS AND OUTLETS, 

flinging stones with other children. At last 
a window was broken, and the boy that 
flung the stone was seized and reprimanded, 
while the rest of the troop, and Harry 
among them, ran away. But this would not 
do for him ; so the next day he went straight 
to the man whose window had been broken, 
and said. 

"Sir, I did not throw the stone that 
broke your window, but I was one of the 
boys, and I was setting a bad example." 

At the time this occurred little Harry was 
not seven years old. From that early con- 
scientiousness he grew up to be just to others, 
never wounding their feelings if he could 
help it, and being happiest himself when he 
made others happy. 

The fragrance of a sincerely unselfish life 
cannot be hidden. 

You have seen some little modest flower 
half concealed in a garden nook, rising but 
a little way above the ground, yet blossom- 
ing sweetly all its little life. Its bosom 



SMELL. 213 

opens to the glad sunbeams, its green leaves 
rustle softly in the pleasant summer wind ; 
but, lowly and content, it never strives to 
push its way to notice. Of all who walk 
the garden paths, and rest in its bowers, few 
have seen the meek-eyed blossom. Its rare 
fragrance, sweeter than ever at evening-time, 
alone betrays its presence to your search. 

Just such a life was little Jane's — so lowly 
that few would have missed her had her 
little feet grown weary and faltered by the 
way. Yet to the small circle brightened by 
her presence she was almost all the cheer- 
ing that it had. Nearly all day long a little 
brother and sister were her constant care 
while her mother went out to earn their 
food. 

I do not know what they would have 
thought to hear an angry word from her 
lips. 

All day she labored for the little ones, 
making their clothes, preparing their food, 
and when the resting-time came, sitting 



214 INLETS AND OUTLETS. 

down on the low door-stone with them, and 
singing the brightest, sweetest hymns, and 
reading them such stories as she had in her 
few books. 

She was a blessing too in all that poor 
neighborhood. The fragrance of even such 
a lowly flower is often widespread. Many 
a careless, gossiping mother has felt rebuked 
by Jane's tidy room and faithfulness to her 
little charge, and been induced by her ex- 
ample also to improve. Many a poor igno- 
rant soul has blessed her for the precious 
pages from her little Testament she has 
taken time to read to them. Many a poor 
sick child has had all the weary day bright- 
ened by only a ten minutes' visit from her 
in the morning. It was seldom she came 
empty-handed, though so poor herself. 

What was the secret of her beautiful life ? 
She was one of Christ's dear children, and 
he taught her day by day how to be useful 
in the world — how to make her life fragrant 
with generous, self-denying deeds of love. 



SMELL, 215 

Such is the story told of a flower that 
was among the most humble, and yet poured 
out its sweetness far and wide. True it is 
that the fragrance of a sincerely unselfish 
life cannot be hidden. 

Here we come to another lesson, taught 
by the fact that perfumes were used in an- 
cient times in connection with acts of wor- 
ship. I will speak to you only of the Jews, 
and of the occasions on which they used 
sweet-smelling substances in obedience to 
the command of God. 

When the Lord instructed Moses con- 
cerning the priesthood and the tabernacle, 
he was told to take sweet spices, with pure 
frankincense, and make a perfume and put 
it in the tabernacle as an offering. He was 
also told to mix myrrh, cinnamon, calamus 
and cassia with olive oil, and to anoint 
with this the altars and other furniture of 
the tabernacle, and the priests themselves. 

Then there was an altar upon which sweet 
incense was burned every morning when the 



216 INLETS AND OUTLETS, 

lamps were trimmed, and every evening 
when the lamps were lighted. As often as 
the high priest entered the most holy place 
he was required to carry the censer in his 
hand, from which clouds of perfume arose 
and enveloped the mercy-seat. 

When the anointing oil was applied to 
the furniture of the sacred tabernacle, and to 
Aaron and his sons, it meant that they were 
set apart for God's service; and when the 
fragrant smoke of the burning incense rose 
from the altar, and from the censer, it was 
the symbol of the prayers that are offered 
by every one who sincerely worships the 
true God. 

The sacred perfumes were not to be imi- 
tated and applied to ordinary use. This 
meant that the soul's consecration to God 
must be entire and undivided, and at the 
same time sincere — not a pretence, but a 
reality, not denoted by unmeaning words, 
but by a pure and constant love. 

Sanctification and prayer — these are 



SMELL, 217 

meant by the oil and the incense. Let us 
look at each. 

What is sanctification now ? Just what 
it has always been. It is more than being 
touched with perfumed oil. That was only 
a sign. Nor did the sign always hold good, 
for sometimes those who were thus set apart 
for the service of God did not serve him at 
all. Sanctification is the work of God's 
own Spirit. He alone can make the soul 
pure, and stamp it with his own image, and 
fill it with his own love for ever. Remember 
too that all this comes through faith in the 
Son of God as your Saviour from sin, who 
when he died purchased the right to wash 
your soul and inspire it with holy love. 

If you are sanctified, then all you have 
and all you are is God's for ever. Every 
member of your body is his. The eye and 
the ear, the touch, the taste and the smell, 
all unite in glorifying him. You are a 
priest in his temple, offering the daily sac- 
rifice of love and the obedience of love at 



218 INLETS AND OUTLETS. 

his altar. It matters not what these acts of 
love may be or where the altar is. When 
Noah left the ark, he built an altar, and 
offered burnt-offerings upon it ; and when 
the smoke of these offerings went up, " the 
Lord smelled a sweet savor." And so he 
does now when you bring to him the sac- 
rifice of a contrite heart and the deeds of 
love that flow out of such a heart. Let God 
have your heart, and then your life will be 
a perpetual sacrifice, acceptable to him. 

The priest, kindling the fire in the temple 
at Jerusalem, performed not a more accept- 
able service than the Christian boy who 
tended the flocks of a very irreligious man. 
The man not only hated religion himself, 
but ridiculed it in others. Do you think it 
was hard to show the mark of consecration 
there? The boy who had been anointed 
and set apart by Jesus, the great High Priest, 
for his service did not find it hard. He 
tried to do his own duty faithfully ; and ex- 
ample goes a long way with the worst of 



SMELL. 219 

people. But he did more. He talked with 
his master and mistress often, and so re- 
spectfully and solemnly that they were 
awed in spite of themselves. They believed 
in William's religion, if they did not in that 
of any one else. By and by he got them 
to go to church w^ith him, and at last the 
poor hardened man and his unchristian wife 
were all broken down and humble at the 
feet of Jesus. They established family wor- 
ship, and lived consistently the rest of their 
lives. 

The poor boy had no closet to pray in — 
no little room of his own where he could be 
alone with God. His only place of retire- 
ment was a little sheep-cote, which became 
the dearest spot on earth to him. Years 
after, when he was far away in a heathen 
land toiling hard for the perishing millions 
of China, his heart turned lovingly to that 
cold little shelter from the winter's storms 
where he used to commune with his Father 
above. 



220 INLETS AND OUTLETS, 

Thus is every child consecrated who loves 
Jesus. His office is a priestly one, for he 
watches the fire of love that God's Spirit 
has kindled in his own heart, and holds the 
torch of truth to other hearts that they too 
may be enlightened and saved. 

You can do much for the Saviour if you 
will. You can love him much, and then 
you will be sure to do what you can ; and 
that is all an angel can do. 

You remember the story of the alabaster 
box of very precious ointment that was 
poured upon the Saviour's head as he sat at 
meat, and you remember how the loving 
disciple who presented this costly offering 
to her Lord washed his feet with her tears. 
Did you not think when you read that story 
that the tears were more precious to him 
than the costly perfume ? Had there been 
no tears, had the heart been hard and un- 
broken and had the anointing been a mere 
form, it would have been worthless to him. 
So it is that every tear from a broken, con- 



SMELL 221 

trite heart is worth more to him than rivers 
of oil. But without love and the obedience 
of love all the pretended homage you pay 
to God, though you were to bring him gold 
and frankincense and myrrh, is only an 
offence to him. To his ancient people, when 
he warned them not to walk contrary to his 
way, God said, " I will not smell the savor 
of your sweet odors ;" and when they did 
disobey, he said, " I will not smell in your 
solemn assemblies." 

Be sure, then, that your heart is right, and 
let nothing enter by any inlet to defile it. 
Say, and truly say — 

*'I will turn the key in the door of my heart, 
So that no one may venture within, 
And then I will silently root out the weeds 
Of discontent, sorrow and sin. 

"The roots have grown strong, and will take time, I fear, 
Before I can tear them away ; 
But I'll just kneel down and whisper to God 
To help me uproot them each day. 

" There is one little cell quite filled with my tears, 
That have silentlv fallen within : 



222 INLETS AND OUTLETS. 

Bat though they were shed through countless long years, 
They would not kill the strong roots of sin. 

^'So I'll keep near to Jesus, the Friend ever sure, 
Who died for my guilt to atone, 
That, grafted in him, the life now impure 
May grow into life like his own." 

Yes, pray to the Saviour that the fra- 
grance of his life may be imparted to you. 
The oil and the incense go together. " Let 
my prayer/' said King David, " be set forth 
before thee as incense." God loves prayer, 
because it is a child's confession of depend- 
ence and want. It is the guilty soul look- 
ing to him for pardon, the weak soul lean- 
ing upon him for strength, the hungry soul 
asking him for bread. And as the incense 
that was burned in the temple was to be 
lighted with the fire God had provided, so 
the desires that burn in the soul and appeal 
to the love and the mercy of your Father 
in heaven must be set on fire with the coal 
from off God's altar. Therefore the prayer 
that brings down the true spirit of prayer 
is, " Lord, teach us to pray." 



SMELL. 223 

Thus inspired by the Hearer of prayer, 
it matters not whose the prayer may be. It 
may be the prayer of the little girl who 
went out to play one day in the fresh new 
snow, and who, when she came in, said, 
'' Mamma, I couldn't help praying when I 
was out of doors." " And what did you pray 
for?" '^ I prayed the snow-prayer that I 
learned once in Sunday-school : Wash me, 
and I shall be whiter than snow." 

Or it may be only the prayer of the poor 
chimney-sweep who, in answer to the ques- 
tion, " Do you ever pray ?" replied, " Oh 
yes, sir." ''And when do you do it? You 
go out very early in the morning, do you 
not ?" " Yes, sir, and we are only half awake 
when we leave the house. I think about 
God, but cannot say I pray then." ''When, 
then, do you pray?" "You see, sir, our 
master tells us to mount the chimney quickly, 
but does not forbid us to rest a little when 
we are at the top. Then I sit on the 
chimney and pray." "And what do you 



224 INLETS AND OUTLETS. 

say?" "Ob, very little, sir. I know no 
grand words with which to speak to God. 
Most frequently I only repeat two verses 
that I learned at school : ' God be merciful 
to me a sinner ' — ' Let the words of my 
mouth and the meditation of my heart 
be acceptable in thy sight, O Lord, my 
strength and my Redeemer.' " 

Treasure in your heart the meaning of 
the perfumed oil and the fragrant incense. 
Never be weary of watching the inlets and 
outlets through which thoughts and impres- 
sions come and go. Never be weary of 
striving and looking for greater purity of 
heart and life. 

" Oh that there were some new token, 

Fresh and bright, that we might bring, 
Some sweet language yet unspoken, 

Some new song that we might sing ; 
Something bright saved from the hours, 

Act of love or word of cheer, 
Kipened wheat or fragrant flowers 

Gleaned from every passing year !" 



